Karl Robinson was despondent as Salford slipped to an uninspiring 2-1 defeat at home to relegation-threatened Accrington.
The visitors took a deserved lead when captain Shaun Whalley powered home a header from a corner after 37 minutes.
Dead-ball specialist Ben Woods, who was unfortunate to have an attempt cannon off the woodwork earlier in the game, curled home a sublime free-kick to double Stanley’s advantage after the hour mark.
Hakeeb Adelakun halved the deficit from the penalty spot as Salford battled their way back into the match, but Accrington held firm to maintain their six-point advantage on the relegation places.
Salford’s outside chance of a top-seven finish suffered a heavy blow and boss Robinson was annoyed with the way his team performed against one of the division’s struggling sides.
He said: “When you see the results of the teams around us, you think what it could have been.
“We didn’t look like a team in the first half. We had more of the ball than I’ve ever seen but we don’t play like that; we are not good enough to play that way.
“We are a team that pushes the opposition, asks questions of the opposition, but today we seemed to think we were playing five-a-side.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen in and around us, so we have to make sure we are competitive in the last three games of the season.
“That was an unacceptable performance but in fairness to the players, you can see it has hurt them, so I can’t ask any more in that respect. I will watch the game back and we will certainly be better on Monday (against Morecambe).”
John Doolan was delighted with the composure his players showed to withstand late Salford pressure and capture three crucial points in their battle for survival.
He said: “I was very pleased with the performance, everything about it was just perfect: the scoreline, the performance, the lot.
“The way we dominated, I thought their keeper was man of the match, he made some unbelievable saves. We just needed to get over the line and win the game, simple as.
“It was great because we stood up to be counted, seeing the game out and still created some chances in the second half.
“The magnitude of the game in terms of what we are trying to achieve is tough against a team like Salford, so we had to be good on the ball and do the basics right, and we did.
“The free-kick was outstanding, Ben (Woods) has got those qualities in him. We were talking yesterday; he said that he had scored the most free-kicks in the league and I said we just need to get another one tomorrow.
“I’m not interested in what other people do, we have to look after ourselves and today that’s what we achieved.”
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