Dean Smith gave his verdict on the 2-0 defeat to Hull City, which saw his side never really get going, Hull comfortably seeing out the second half to win after scoring two first half goals, despite missing a penalty.
“It was tough in the first half, I thought they were better than us,” said Dean. “They had the luxury of rotating their squad a lot more than we could and I thought their freshness showed a little bit. We were a bit wasteful on the ball. I was disappointed with the manner of the goals we conceded.
“Second half I thought we gave it a better go. It was always going to be tough, two goals down, with the quality of players they can put on but more pleased with the second half than I was the first.”
The Bees Head Coach did not look to makes excuses for the result against a team that has a playing budget for in excess of his.
“We still believe we can compete against these teams despite the parachute payments they get from the Premier League,” said Dean. “Because we have a lot of belief in the dressing room and that’s why it was disappointing with the performance in the first half.”
Dean also called into question the decision to move the game to so late in the season.
“In somebody’s wisdom we played three games in March and eight in April,” said Dean. “I don’t know who works that out; this game shouldn’t have been played tonight, it should have been played weeks before. For whatever reason the FA Cup took precedence over us and then Premier League game took precedence over this one and gets moved to a night where neither team really needs it.”
Dean confirmed Jake Bidwell felt cramp in his hamstring but was hoping he would be fit for Saturday. He added Scott Hogan and hopefully Lasse Vibe will be in contention for the West London derby with Fulham on Saturday.
“When I first came we played Fulham away and we took a wonderful support there and they got behind us right from the off,” said Dean. “It gave me a sense of how important it is so I’m looking forward to it.”