Garry Monk said Wednesday got what they deserved after turning a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 defeat inside the final four minutes of added time at Stoke.
Speaking after another late reverse, Monk said: “It wasn’t a performance I expect from that team, from what they have been showing since I came in.
“I’m hugely disappointed with the result but I think overall, if we’re honest about it, we got what we deserved.
“In the first 60 minutes we didn’t match their fight.
“The silver lining though was that only having the one-goal deficit always gives you a lifeline.”
Monk, who said we weren’t at the races for that opening hour, added: “We stepped up a little bit more in the last 30 minutes and managed to get ourselves two goals from set pieces and, at that point, you expect to at least see the game out.
“I wouldn’t say it would ever be comfortable but you expect to do better in those later stages of the game. Then there are two incidents, two situations where they score their goals from and we have to feel hugely disappointed.
“However, one thing we can’t do in this period is dwell on things. We need to think about it tonight and then take out our frustration and disappointment in the weekend game.”