Brentford Manager Uwe Rösler said he took full responsibility for a team selection that “didn’t work” and his side were beaten by Rotherham United.
The Yorkshire side took the points at Griffin Park thanks to an early goal from Mark Bradley.
The defender arrived late to head home a free kick 14 minutes in and score the only goal of the afternoon.
Uwe said he knew what to expect from Rotherham and the visitors defended in numbers to protect their lead, attempting to hit Brentford on the break with their direct style.
The Bees started with the same 4-4-2 system as they used in the win over Coventry City last week with Alan McCormack on the left of midfield.
Sam Saunders replaced Martin Fillo and Marcello Trotta came in for Will Grigg while David Button replaced Richard Lee in goal.
Uwe said he switched to three central midfield players in the second half and brought on his attacking options but couldn’t find a way through.
“It was frustrating,” said the Brentford Manager, speaking after the match.
“We changed the shape in the second half, had more dominance on the ball but we put balls in the box and had only one striker in there.
“Then we went more offensive, put everything offensive we had on the bench on the pitch.
“We couldn’t break them down.
“We knew what Rotherham were about.
“They are resilient, a hard-working team.
“We couldn’t hold the ball up front.
“I take responsibility for the result.
“I selected the team, it didn’t work.
“That’s my responsibility.”
Uwe said he made the changes to the starting XI that beat Coventry based on performances in that win and what he had seen in training.
He said he took responsibility for the performance produced by the team he selected.
Uwe said his team were not playing as much football as they were at the start of the season and were suffering from a lack of confidence.
He said his team struggled to compete physically with Rotherham and were made to pay for their mistakes.
“Players were selected based on the impression I had in training this week,” said Uwe.
“Plus, what I had seen in the last game.
“I am responsible.
“I am not blaming anyone else.
“We have to start to play football again.
“At the moment we are not, we have players that are low on confidence.
“As a team we have not dealt with the pressure and lived up to our expectations.
“We are not playing with the freedom we had at the beginning of the season.
“We are scrapping and working hard but with the team we have put together we have problems competing physically against teams like Rotherham.
“When we make stupid mistakes and are 1-0 down it is hard.”
Uwe said his players would continue to work hard to put things right but he may utilise his squad and give other players a chance.
“We have to continue to work on certain things,” said Uwe.
“I will take the responsibility.
“Everyone should look in the mirror but I take responsibility for the team selection and the results.
“We talk about the same issues all season and maybe we will have to make changes that some people might not understand.
“We have to give people a chance over time to show what they can do.
“The people who make mistakes are the same ones.
“The players are not letting me down but I have to give others a chance.”
Brentford’s next game is the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie against Peterborough United on Tuesday.
They then travel to Stevenage for their next Sky Bet League One game next Saturday.
Uwe refused to blame injuries for his team’s record this season and said his players had to deal with the pressure.
“We have an opportunity on Tuesday to test things,” he said.
“We have to start to play football again.
“We have to handle the pressure better.
“We can’t make the same mistakes, there has to be consequences.
“We have players coming back from injury; I lost my left side in one week.
“But there are no excuses; we should have enough to play better football.
“We have to play better, be braver and if you don’t have the confidence it is difficult.”
Uwe said he was taking the JPT tie seriously and wanted to win it.
He added Jonathan Douglas, George Saville and Jake Bidwell – all now back after injury – would play.
“We have to take every game seriously,” he said.
“There will be a chance for players that have come back from injury like George Saville, Jonathan Douglas, Jake Bidwell.
“They will definitely play.
“I will combine that with six starters from today.”
Bees Player subscribers can see a full video interview with Uwe Rösler here.