Hope Powell had no complaints after Albion slipped to a 2-0 home defeat against Manchester United in the WSL.
Goals from Hayley Rudd and Vilde Boe Risa condemned Albion to a third successive defeat and it needed some fine saves by keeper Megan Walsh to deny United further goals.
“It wasn’t good enough, we took too long to get going,” admitted Albion’s head coach. “We didn’t play well at all in the first half. Credit to Manchester United, they were faster and better than us, they denied us space and time on the ball. It was way off the standards that we set ourselves.
“We were hoping to hold on at 0-0 until half-time to make a few adjustments. The first goal was a silly to give away - we weren’t organised from the set-piece.
“It was only in the second half when we started to try and play but we didn’t create too much. I have no complaints, we were beaten by the better side.”
Albion have two games before the Christmas break with a trip to West Ham in the Conti Cup on Wednesday followed by next Sunday’s visit to WSL leaders Arsenal.
“It’s a tough week so recovery from today will be important,” added Powell. “We’ve got to put this behind us quickly and move on, but we have to improve on our performance today. The girls know they can play better.”