Argyle’s latest defeat came in difficult circumstances at Bristol Rovers.
Plymouth were reduced to 10 men after just two minutes when Kornel Szucs was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
The Pilgrims held out until the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time when Kamil Conteh got the winning goal after a mistake by goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond but still finished second in their group and earned a place in the knockout stages.
“To have a man sent off after two minutes, game plan out the window, so then it becomes about reshuffling the pack quickly and players resilience, application, honesty, pride to wear the shirt,” Cleverley told BBC Radio Devon.
“We saw all those things tonight. The way it’s been going, the result, the players are not going to get the rewards or the satisfaction out of that performance that they probably deserve.
“But the main thing for me is there’s been a long hangover since the Exeter game, of course it’s been six defeats, but there was one that really, really had long-lasting effects, and it was that game.
“The players’ confidence took a real hit and it’s taken a long time to come back.
“I saw 40 minutes on Saturday and 93 minutes today that proved to me it’s coming back and the application was the main thing.”
