Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce was shell-shocked after their 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Saturday night.
Goals either side of half-time from Leandro Trossard and Danny Welbeck put Albion in control and top scorer Neal Maupay added a third midway through the second half.
Bruce said, "It's difficult to digest at the moment. We simply weren't anywhere near good enough on the night. Fair play to Brighton, they were better in every department.
“We knew we'd have to be good with the ball. It was a very difficult evening for us and a painful one at that.
“We didn't get after it well enough. Their tactics were very decent, they caught us out in that respect. We probably needed to get to half-time to clear a few things up, but overall we weren't anywhere near the levels we need to be at. I take full responsibility for that. Unfortunately it unravelled very, very quickly.
“Our concentration levels to get to half-time were crucial, so to give a poor goal away sums it up. That was the concern for me, it was a little bit too easy for Brighton. That was typified by the first goal.
“We have to accept that we were nowhere near good enough tonight. We have two weeks now to see if we can get one or two players back.
“There's a lot of disappointment. Over the last few weeks I've seen a degree of togetherness and fight, but we've got to be better than we were tonight to give ourselves a chance."
