Plymouth Argyle: Grimsby Town FA Cup loss a 'reality check' says boss Steven Schumacher

Steven Schumacher led Plymouth to a third round tie at Chelsea in last season's FA Cup

Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher says his side's 5-1 loss at League Two side Grimsby Town in the FA Cup is a 'reality check'.

The Pilgrims went into the game four points clear at the top of League One after an impressive 4-2 win over Devon rivals Exeter City on Monday night.

But they found themselves 4-1 down at half-time as they suffered their joint-heaviest defeat of the season.

"I'm shocked really for the level of performance that we put in," he told BBC Radio Devon.

"It's simply not good enough and the standards that we have been playing at lately we were nowhere near that today.

"We got what we deserved. Grimsby Town were by far the better team, showed more energy than us, showed more passion and more commitment to win the game and more desire, so they deserved to go through to the second round and we deserved nothing from it."

The defeat ended a 16-game unbeaten run in all competitions that stretched back to a 5-1 loss at Charlton Athletic on 16 August.

"It just shows if we don't do the basics right, don't compete, don't try and win second balls, then you're not going to get an awful lot from the games," Schumacher said.

"It might be a bit of a reality check as well to a few because I felt that we were a little bit sloppy in the body language and didn't ever really get a grip of the game.

"It's a real blip and something we're going to have to learn from."

He added: "We won't overreact. It's the first defeat in what, 15 games or something.

"I think the players are experienced enough and honest enough to know that wasn't good enough.

"So we'll be getting back to work on Monday and looking to put it right because the standards that we have set in the league have been different class."