Charlton manager Ben Garner insisted his side are not “strong enough to compete at the top end” of League One following their 1-0 defeat at Port Vale.

A second-half goal from Dan Butterworth was enough to see Port Vale win, and Garner’s side failed to show the attacking quality needed to end their four-match winless league run.

Garner stressed the need to recruit in January saying he is not a “magician” or a “miracle worker”.

He also criticised his team’s performance and expressed his frustration with the condition of Vale’s pitch.

Garner said: “Horrible would be my summary, horrible pitch, horrible performance. A very disappointing afternoon.

“The way they play, they play anti-football they just want to stop you. We weren’t good enough with the ball, we didn’t fight without it, didn’t show enough brightness and then we give a horrendous goal away.

“That gives them something to hold onto and then they kill the game. As horrible as the game was at 0-0 you’ve got a chance to go on and win it, so we have to be much better.

“We have to turn this squad over, we have to strengthen and we have to invest. You can see at the moment we are not competitive enough for this part of the division.

“We are not strong enough and we’ve not got the depth to compete at the top end of this division and that’s a fact. I’m not a magician, I’m not a miracle worker.

“Between now and January we’ve got to fight and play a lot better than that and get as many points as possible.”

On the other hand, Vale assistant manager Andy Crosby heaped praise on his players saying that the character of their performance “was never in doubt”.

He said: “We had discipline without the ball, we were compact without the ball, and we were really good at defending our box.

“I’m delighted for the whole group, the only disappointment is for the lads who couldn’t get onto the pitch or weren’t in the squad, but what a group of people.

“The character of the performance was never in doubt, not with our group, I admire the resilience and togetherness which you don’t get at a lot of football clubs where there are usually little cliques.

“We spoke about one or two details at half-time, taking advantage when there’s a turnover and going forward as quickly as you can.

“We were better with it second half, we thought there would be one moment and Dan executed it brilliantly.

“He’s got incredible talent in possession, he can create a chance, can score, he can play the final pass and that’s not in any doubt.

“He’s got a desire to improve and credit to him for that.”