Mark Hughes shared his frustration with the Bantams’ end product, after his side was knocked out of the Papa Johns Trophy with a 1-0 defeat at Salford City.
Hughes admitted his Bantams have to “be more vigilant” when defending, but praised the side's endeavour in the second half, as Harry Chapman and Tyreik Wright came close to equalising after the break.
He said: “We are disappointed, as it was a competition we wanted to progress in.
“We were a little loose and careless with our final ball. It is something we need to address, because we have good possession with the ball, but are not having that end product.
“If we had taken a little more care, then we would have been more likely to score.
“We were better in the second half, in terms of retaining the ball and getting into wide areas. Once again though, we were not creating clear-cut chances.
“We should not have conceded. The goal-scorer turned our man, but then no-one came to engage with him, and allowed him to get a shot on goal.
“We have to be more vigilant in those areas.”
The Welshman admitted City were always on the back foot as the Ammies defended for much of the second half - and identified the need to be more ruthless when his side have the momentum.
Hughes was pleased to see Jamie Walker back on the field for City, and is now keen to turn attention to facing Leyton Orient next weekend.
“They had that one-goal lead, so they will always look to defend what they have got,” Hughes added.
“As a side trying to attack and break them down, that is always going to be difficult for us. The importance of the first goal was clear for everyone to see.
“It was very positive having Jamie Walker back on the pitch.
“Jamie’s got the next few games to get up to speed, but he will have an impact. His approach and mentality will be important to us, and will be a real asset.
“We need to get back on track quickly. It is not an easy game ahead of us. We look at tonight, and the Northampton game, and we will see we have not been executing chances we should.
“We have to put the work in with the guys. Hopefully, we will see the levels improve and our form will be back on track.
“We have to get our performances back to the level we know we are capable of.”