Brentford Assistant Manager David Weir said The Bees did not do enough to get anything from their Sky Bet League One match against Rotherham United.
The Bees were beaten 3-0 in Yorkshire on Tuesday night.
Kieran Agard scored two in the first half for the hosts and Haris Vuckic made it safe late on.
David said the first half performance, in particular, wasn’t up to usual standards and Brentford lacked energy and quality.
“We didn’t do well enough, particularly in the first half, to come away with anything,” he said.
“That is disappointing.
“It was a combination of factors
“We had two or three lads not at the level they have been.
“When you have that it is difficult.
“We are a team that is full of energy and with great quality.
“We need both those things.
“We were off it a bit tonight, the game became a battle and they won the majority of the battles.”
Rotherham’s first goal came from the penalty spot.
James Tavernier, up from right back, cut inside Alan Judge and went down under a challenge.
Referee Geoff Eltringham took the advice of an assistant and pointed to the penalty spot.
However, it wasn’t initially clear whether the foul was inside the penalty area.
David, speaking to Bees Player: Match Day Live after the match, said the goal gave the home side a lift.
“It was delayed, I wasn’t sure if it was inside our outside,” he said.
“I haven’t seen it again so can’t really comment.
“We hadn’t started well but them getting a goal gave them a real boost.
David said Rotherham played well but Brentford didn’t play their game.
He said The Bees had to learn from it and move on.
“They did well but that is how they are,” he said.
“They are very direct and they turned the game in to a fight.
“We didn’t have enough quality on the night in the right areas.
“When we did get quality in the second half, we looked like we would score a goal.
“We weren’t good enough in the first half.
“We have to take it on the chin, give them credit, because they played well.
“We didn’t play the game that suited us.
“They will be happy with the result, we have to learn and move forward.”
David said Brentford were better after the break but still not good enough.
“We tried to get different options on the pitch,” he said.
“We were better in the second half than the first.
“We were creative, got to the by-line a few times, created a couple of chances.
“It still wasn’t enough but it was an improvement.”
David said Brentford only had to look at themselves and not what other clubs in League One were doing.
But he added there would be “twists and turns” before the end of the campaign.
“We need to look at tonight,” he said.
“We have to be disappointed and realise we have to be better moving forward.
“We didn’t do as well as we would have liked.
“There is a long way to go, there will be twists and turns and we need to put in performances to get us results.
“Tonight, being honest, we didn’t do enough.”
Brentford’s next game is away to Oldham Athletic on Saturday.
David said the squad would reflect on the Rotherham result, look at what they had done well to get in to the League One promotion race and attempt to react positively at Oldham.
“We will get the lads rested and recovered and travel on Friday,” he said.
“We know that will be a difficult match.
“We have to look at the things we haven’t done well, but also the things we have done well and move forward to try and get a good performance.
“We have to react positively, it will be a big game for us.
“We have to acknowledge the disappointment of tonight and react in a positive way.”
The best bits from Tuesday’s Bees Player: Match Day Live will be available soon.