The Imps hammered City 5-0 on Tuesday night.
“I said to the lads it’s a bit of a reality check in terms of it was a team performing well in League One and who were probably too much for us in terms of the all-round intensity they played at, physicality they showed, the quality they had, the clarity in their game plan,” Wilkinson told City's website.
“Credit to them. For us it was a bit of a reality check and a reminder of how hard it is to be a professional footballer and to play every week. It was a difficult night and one we need to take the lessons from.”
He added, “It’s something for us to look at and over the course of the three games, the first two games lot of positives but over the three we have not hurt opposition as much as we’d like to and not created enough over the three games.
“We have loads to take out of it but a reality check at where we are.”