Town interim boss Mick Harford was proud of his side despite the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday seeing them bow out of the Emirates FA Cup.
Atdhe Nuhiu got the all important goal in the 1-0 win for the Owls – his deflected strike in the first minute of the second half ensuring Steve Agnew's side head to Chelsea for the fourth round tie.
Town were very much Wednesday's equals throughout the fixture and will feel hard done by not to have at least taken the game to extra time as Elliot Lee, Luke Berry and James Collins all saw chances go begging.
Harford said: "We as a group of staff couldn't be prouder of the players or the fans, the way they backed the team and I just think we put in a performance that didn't deserve to lose. We played some great football, obviously they're a Championship side, we went toe-to-toe, I thought we moved the ball very well.
"They put us under pressure, but we adapted and kicked on and overall there's a lot of disappointed players in there, but they can take a lot of heart from that performance.
"As I said, if we keep putting in performances like this one this evening and the one on Saturday, we will be in the shake up come the end of the season."