Brentford Manager Mark Warburton said his side lacked a bit of quality as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Carlisle United.
The Bees drew in Cumbria yesterday afternoon as they were unable to break down a dogged and well-organised defence.
Mark, speaking to Bees Player after the match, said his team needed to be better, particularly in the final third.
He admitted the squad were disappointed not to have won the game and it showed how far they had come as in previous years it would have been a good result.
Mark said his players had to “go to the next level” and break down teams that attempt to stifle them.
“We are disappointed,” said Mark.
“We dominated possession but we lacked a bit of quality.
“We were sloppy at times, be it a sloppy pass, touch, run.
“We have to be better than that.
“We can never criticise them for their work rate and approach to the game but we have to be better than we were today.
“Not long ago, Brentford would have come to Carlisle and been happy with a point.
“Now we are disappointed.
“Teams will look at Brentford and say ‘two banks of four, break us down, we will hit you on the counter’.
“We have to be aware of that and try to go to the next level.
“We need to be more clinical, clever in the final third and hit the target.”
Mark said he expected Carlisle to play in the way they did.
He said Wolverhampton Wanderers had played in a similar fashion when they won at Griffin Park last week and other teams will try to do the same.
Mark said Brentford had to find a way to beat it.
“We thought they would sit back and allow us to have the ball,” he said.
“We played out from the back for fun.
“But we have to break them down.
“Wolves did a similar thing and teams are looking at doing this to Brentford.
“We have some good footballers and if a team plays football against us we will be in good shape.
“Now we have to be clever.
“Our final pass, delivery, getting caught offside, poor crossing – that was sloppy and not typical Brentford.
“We have to tighten that up and we will do.
“We have to look at what we have to do next.”
Alan McCormack and Harlee Dean missed the match with injury and were replaced by Nico Yennaris and James Tarkowski.
Mark explained the seriousness of their injuries and had special praise for James Tarkowski.
“Alan McCormack has a small problem with one of his glutes,” said Mark.
“He will miss one game.
“He could have pushed it and played today but might have made it worse.
“We have a good squad and rely on it.
“Harlee has had a problem that got worse over Christmas, a groin issue.
“He battled back to play.
“It hasn’t really gone away.
“We have to make sure he is looked after.
“Harlee is being looked after by the medical team, he is hungry to play but knows he has to get himself well.
“James Tarkowski was excellent.
“He is comfortable in possession, has a good range of pass and can run with the ball, very composed.
“That display today came as no surprise; he has been outstanding in training and did very well.
“It is testament to Harlee Dean that someone of James’ quality has been kept on the bench.”
Mark added: “Today was a prime example of how we will use the squad.
“We also thought about how we wanted to use the substitutes.
“I felt we were dominant in the final stages and hoped a chance would come.
“The young boys – Louis Hutton and Raphaël Calvet – have earned their place in the squad.”
Mark said Carlisle were pleased with the result.
He said the Brentford group had to keep learning and demanding more from themselves in order to improve.
“We have come here and they are pleased with the result,” said Mark.
“They tried to kill the game at the end, wasting time.
“We have come a long way and must keep demanding from ourselves.
“We have two home games to come; we have to do our work.
“We have talented players and if we keep learning we will be OK.”
Bees Player subscribers can see a full post-match interview with Mark Warburton here.