Matt Done scored a very late scant consolation goal for the Blades, his first of the season, but despite creating many chances United were unable to take away any points from the match.
"I want to win football matches and we won't win playing like that," he said. It was a bad defeat and I won't hide away from it. We need to go up this season. I look after my players and I back them up when possible, but I'll have to take stock of that performance over the next few days. Managers get emotional straight after games and we need to be calm when examining what happened.
"I thought we started okay and after 15 minutes I thought we would go on to win the game. Goals change games and a big turning point was Vale scoring their second just before half-time and their 'keeper making a brilliant save straight after the break. We tried to force the issue with positive substitutions and Matty Done scoring on his return from injury was nice to see. But overall what the team produced just wasn't good enough and there is room for a lot of improvement."