Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup reflected on his side's 2-0 defeat to Leeds United in the Sky Bet Championship.
The Canaries were behind inside the opening minute as Manor Solomon scored, before Dan James doubled the score in the second half.
"I think we're in a position where it's not Leeds and Sheffield United we have to compete against," the head coach said. "I think they're on a higher level than us, that's something we have to accept.
"You have to play the game, the way we want to do it and see how many dangerous moments we can create. Against Sheffield United and against Leeds, it's still too little of a level. It's fair to say, it's not where we are as a team.
"I think the guys put on a fight today and they were supporting together. Defensively, we were doing well and especially in the first half, we didn't give away too many chances even though we got off to a bad start.
"The way we reacted after that, how we tried to get momentum in the game, it was OK. But, realistically we weren't really competing for a win tonight."
The head coach said he was pleased with his side's reaction after Solomon's early opener.
The loan signing from Spurs gave Leeds the advantage with just over 30 seconds on the clock.
"I felt the reaction was good. We had that chance for Onel (Hernández) only moments after, a few good crosses into the box and the shot from Kellen (Fisher) from the edge of the box," he highlighted.
"It doesn't take much for us to turn that into a chance, it's just that final pass or final decision. We knew that we probably wouldn't expect too many of those.
"We're not taking care of those moments, not really creating enough. The players were doing whatever they can, supporting each other and the reaction after the goal was an outstanding one."