Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup spoke to Canaries TV after the 2-1 defeat away to Sunderland.
Anis Ben Slimane's opener was met with two second-half goals from Dan Ballard and Jobe Bellingham as Sunderland claimed all three points.
"I think the first half was okay," Hoff Thorup said. "Some moments in the first half, we had the control that we would want. But we have to respect that they come out with a lot of energy that we have to deal with.
"I don't think we dealt with that well enough. Especially with our passing game, which was not good enough. First half, overall, was okay. A few chances at both ends, but second half was decided by a lot of incidents which gave us a lot to do.
"We spoke about it at half-time about how to deal with their energy, but then they go and score with the first possible chance they have."
The head coach also spoke about the busy festive period, with the Canaries hosting Millwall on Boxing Day.
"It's important we have the players available so it's not ideal for us to receive red cards, so it creates a situation where we have to deal with that.
"We know games are coming, it's the same for us and all the other teams. The only thing we can do is prepare."