Mike van der Hoorn has admitted Swansea City have not measured up to the standards being set at the top of the Championship.
The Swans captain conceded his team feel short during their humbling 4-1 defeat at home to leaders Norwich City.
The result dropped the club to ninth position in the table, five points off the play-offs ahead of their next examination against fourth-placed West Brom on Wednesday.
“It was very disappointing,” said van der Hoorn. “We failed our test of competing with the top side and need to work on that.
“I think we started very well. We were very good in the first 20 minutes. They had one break when the ball went in and, after that, we lost our momentum. We let them come into the game and they were very clinical.
“We created a lot of chances but we needed to be more lively in the box.
“We need to learn from this quickly and keep our heads up because the games are coming around fast in this period. We’ll go again on Wednesday.”
Swans manager Graham Potter also offered no excuses for the biggest defeat since he took charge and said: “We have to learn to manage disappointment and stay in the game.
“Norwich were the better team and deserved to win the game and we contributed to their performance.”
For an incredible third successive game, Norwich scored four goals and much like Wolves last season it is an insatiable appetite no-one else in the Championship can match at present.
This was the league leaders’ sixth straight victory and was more impressive since the home side themselves were on their best run of form this season.
“To be at the top with so many points after 18 games is outstanding, but it’s no coincidence,” said Norwich’s German manager Daniel Farke.
“A third of the season is done and we’re in a good position, but we know each and every win is based on hard work.
“At the moment we are focused, disciplined and concentrated on every small situation which is important for us and hopefully we can push on.
“We have great commitment and togetherness and we all believe we can be up there.
“We know we can’t lose the ground under our feet and enjoy ourselves too much because this league is so close and every game is so difficult.
“We know there are clubs with bigger budgets and bigger opportunities but we are enjoying the moment and there isn’t so much pressure. But we are also greedy to win as many points as possible and that’s what we will try to do.”
Norwich have now won 10 of their last 12 Championship matches and they have the hottest marksman around in Teemu Pukki – the Finn who has now scored five goals in his last three games and 14 in all this season.
It looked like he was going to open the scoring, but his disguised cross bemused van der Hoorn who deflected the ball past his own keeper.
It was 2-0 soon after when Bersant Celina dithered near his own goal and Emiliano Buendia robbed him to calmly fire into the bottom corner.
Swansea are normally pass masters in their own domain, but they were picked apart again just after the half hour as a sweeping Norwich move ended with a deserved tap-in for Marco Stiepermann.
Daniel James scored his first league goal made it 3-1 from a rebound, but Pukki crushed any thoughts of a comeback when he turned and rifled in a fourth.
