Manager Kieran McKenna felt his team did “a pretty good job” at 11 v 11 against Newcastle United but that the challenge was too big following Ben Johnson’s red card.
The Magpies went on to cruise to a 3-0 victory but until the 37th-minute dismissal Town had limited the Champions League-pushing side despite having 10 players unavailable and others on the bench short of fitness.
"We’ve come here in a really difficult situation, not just in terms of the league but in terms of availability,” McKenna said. "Getting a fit squad and team out with players in the right position has been a challenge this week.
"We knew Newcastle are in fantastic form at home with great momentum and have blown the last couple of opponents away, so we knew we had to manage the game well and try and take some of that momentum away in the early stages.
"And I thought we did a pretty good job of that and carried a little bit of a threat going the other way.
"And at 11 v 11, I think we can take pride in terms of how we’ve managed a really difficult game. With 11 v 10, the challenge was just too big, so it didn’t go our way.”
Regarding Johnson’s dismissal for two bookable offences, he said: "I think the first yellow is the key decision, in my opinion. I think we’re really frustrated with that one because as I saw it at the time, Ben Johnson’s running through, takes a touch past the last man and is running at pretty much full pelt with the ball.
"Dan Burn sticks his leg out, his foot and his knee across Ben. Whether there’s minimum contact, little contact, no contact, I don’t know, but I think it’s natural for the forward in that situation to go over the contact. You don’t have to get smashed by the defender, it’s natural to ride the contact.
"Of course, whether it’s a foul or no foul is really, really marginal and there will be 100 slow motion replays to see what contact there was that I haven’t seen, but I don’t think there’s any need to give a yellow card. It’s not simulation, he’s not that type of player, I think he’s expecting the contact when Dan Burn sticks his leg out and he tries to get out of the way of the contact.
"If the referee doesn’t think it’s a free-kick then fair enough, but to book a full-back in that situation makes it really, really difficult.
"The second yellow, I think in isolation you can say a yellow can be given but when it’s a player’s first foul of the game and the first yellow is a couple of minutes earlier and was very debatable, in my opinion, I’ve said that because it happened earlier in the season.
"I think a red card in football is such a big thing that there should be room for discretion in those areas when it’s a first foul and it’s very close after a very debatable yellow card.
"We’ve had a couple of those this season, we had Axel Tuanzebe [at Aston Villa]. Twice the full-back has been sent off for two yellows for one foul and that’s pretty tough to take.
"I think that had a big impact on the game today. It was tough and it was going to be tough. It had a big impact on the game today but in terms of reflecting on the whole season and stuff like that, we’re not going put it all or hide behind referees in any way.”
McKenna had sympathy with Jack Clarke, who was withdrawn for the second game running as the Blues sought to strengthen at the back following a red card, Leif Davis having been given his marching orders against Arsenal at Portman Road last weekend.
"Frustrating for him,” the Northern Irishman continued. "I thought he started well, to be honest.
"We spoke about it yesterday, he obviously played against Kieran Trippier last year with Sunderland and it was a big challenge.
"He was really looking forward to the game and I thought it was a good tussle. They were both going at it and I thought it was set to be a really good battle.
"Really frustrated for him, but he's taken some good progress in different areas and he's going to be at the club for the long-term and hopefully he can keep improving.”
Regarding the penalty from which Alexander Isak scored Newcastle’s opening goal following a foul by Julio Enciso on Jacob Murphy, a decision given by VAR after referee Michael Salisbury initially waved away protests, the Blues boss added: "I’ve not pored over it, it looks like there’s a touch, so it can be given.”
The defeat confirmed Town’s relegation from the Premier League and McKenna was asked if there was anything different he would have done if he had his time again.
"Today it’s mathematically to catch teams but you reflect as the season goes on and probably since the Wolves game we’ve known that the climb was going to be too big,” he continued.
"Of course, there are things to reflect on, of course there are things that we’ll look back at and think we could have done better or differently.
"But we look back from a position where we’ve tried to do the right thing in a pretty unique jump coming from League One to the Premier League in two seasons, which hasn’t been done in a very long time and I’m not sure it will be done in the way we did it again. There isn’t really a rulebook for that.
"People can see that the jump from the Championship to the Premier League has grown and has become really difficult and we were in a pretty unique position in the summer.
"We’ve tried to act in the best interests of the long-term future of the club, while still giving us a chance to be competitive this year. I think we’ve been competitive for the most part.
"We couldn’t have worked any harder and we’ve tried to do the right things. Of course, there are things that we’ll look back on and think we’ve made good decisions and done the right things and there are things we’ll look back on and think certain things didn’t work out or we could have done a little bit differently. But those reflections are always going to be in detail best kept in-house.”
McKenna believes the club is still on an upward curve, despite their stay in the Premier League lasting only one season.
"I think it’s definitely so from where we were a few years ago,” he insisted. "To establish in the Premier League following the two promotions this season would have been fantastic and we’ve given it our best shot but we’re going to fall short.
"But I think in almost every aspect, from work at the training ground, work at the stadium, staff infrastructure, people infrastructure, the squad, strength and development of players, I think in every area we’re much stronger than we were a couple of years ago.
"That doesn’t guarantee us anything, there’s no guarantee that we continue that progression but if we work hard again, if we continued to work as hard as we are, if we do the right things, if we make the right decisions, I think the club’s got a great chance to push on again.”
At the end, the Town players and staff were given a warm reception by their supporters sat high in the Leazes Stand Stand and McKenna said it meant a lot.
"It does,” he said. "We’ve had it plenty of weeks and it’s humbling and incredibly appreciated. I think we’ve got an incredible supporter base, as the team we faced today do and there are some similarities there and the singing for Sir Bobby [Robson] at the end was fantastic.
"The reception that we got is so appreciated, it’s humbling and we want to keep earning it. We know it’s not just for our efforts this year. I think the supporters can see that the players have given everything today, as they have on so many days, but we’ve fallen short.
"But they know that everyone’s given everything, but they also know that the journey has been an incredible one and this is now a step back but if we stick together and do the right things it can still be a great springboard to push on again. We really appreciate it.”