Graham Potter said the defeat to Everton was a reminder of the level Albion need to be at to secure points in the Premier League.
Having gone into the game against Rafa Benitez’s men with back-to-back wins, Albion were dealt a sucker punch just before half-time when Demarai Gray put the visitors in the lead.
That advantage was doubled 15 minutes after the restart when Dominic Calvert-Lewin fired in from the penalty spot to seal their 2-0 win.
“We have no complaints with the effort or the attitude, but the intensity level wasn’t as high as it needs to be if you’re playing against a team like Everton,” Potter said. “We weren’t at our maximum, we weren’t really bad, but not that good either. The better team won.
“You’re always disappointed when you concede goals but if you make an error against this type of team there’s a chance they can punish you on the counter-attack with the quality of their players.
“We responded quite well when we came out after half-time and we looked to put a bit of pressure on, but conceding the penalty took the wind out of us and made it a little bit more difficult. Over the course of the game, I have no complaints.
“We didn’t play as well as we can but six points from the first three matches is not a bad start. It’s a reminder for us that we need to be at a really high level to get points off anybody in this league.”
One positive was 20-year-old Taylor Richards’ composed performance on his Premier League debut.
“I thought he did well, it was a difficult situation to go on in but you could see his qualities and he influenced the game. He made some good passes and set us off on some attacks, and he will be better for the experience. He’s an exciting player with some good attributes.”