James Beattie is proud of his players despite them being knocked out of the Capital One Cup at Leeds United.

The Reds were 2-0 down against the Championship side but rallied to pull a goal back through James Gray and set up a frantic finish.

“The second half was a magnificent effort from the boys,” said the manager. “We tweaked the formation at half time and tried to match Leeds up and I thought we were better than them in the second half. It was just unfortunate that we went in 2-0 down at half time.

“We’ve got to learn to play in the right areas. I say it to the lads when we’re playing in our league and it’s especially important when you come to places like this against a Championship side like Leeds. If you play in the wrong areas you get dispossessed and punished and that’s what happened. Hopefully it’s a lesson learned and it won’t happen too many times, if ever, again.

“I’ll never, ever fault the effort of the boys but the way that effort is applied is sometimes something that needs adjusting.

“The second half was great. I’ve got no complaints whatsoever. The spirits that these lads have to play like that to play against a side like this is magnificent and I’m very proud of them, as I have been on many occasions.”