Dean Smith was an unhappy man after Brentford suffered a heavy defeat to Brighton on Friday night.

Anthony Knockaert, Tomer Hemed and Jamie Murphy all scored for the Seagulls as the Bees failed to cope on the south coast.

And head coach Smith felt the opening goal changed the course of the game but was furious with his side's defending.

He said: “I felt the first goal changed the game. It could have gone either way. They scored after poor defending from us.

“We switched off from a quick free kick and didn't stop the cross and allowed a free header in the box.

Final nail: Jamie Murphy celebrates with team-mates after scoring

“If we'd gone in 1-0 down at half-time we would have turned it around. We've had the lion's share of possession but we didn't do enough with the ball to score many goals.”

He added: “We spoke about the training and we felt the intensity hadn't been good enough and that carried over into the game. I felt it turned over the first goal.

“We've got to make better decisions and keep clean sheets as we haven't been doing that. We have to work harder on the training ground and be better defensively.

“I felt it was individual mistakes. Maxime Colin made mistakes he wouldn't normally make but Jamie Murphy was outstanding for them.”

Brentford looked toothless up front with Lasse Vibe invisible for most of the contest.

Reading's Jordan Obita and Brentford's Lasse Vibe in action

The Dane has not had an off-season for over a year but Smith was uncertain whether it was burnout but doesn't feel Marco Djuricin is fit enough to return and doesn't have the players to work with Philipp Hofmann.

He added: “I don't know if it's burn-out or not. He's played regularly for 18 months. Lasse has been playing a long time.

“Marco is coming back from injury and he's fighting for fitness. Hofmann is a different type of player – we have to get bodies beyond him and we haven't got the players to do that at the moment.”

Sam Saunders and John Swift also struggled during the game and Smith would have preferred them to remain closer to the wings, rather than drifting inside.

Struggle: Sam Saunders

“We talked about keeping the width today as they play with two banks of four,” Smith explained.

“I spoke at half-time that the two wide players were coming inside too early and it was too easy for their banks of four to defend it then.

“The lads rotated as a three. They were playing too far inside rather than keeping the width.”

Josh McEachran went off with a hip injury late on to give Smith another headache, although it gave him a chance to hand Lewis Macleod his Brentford debut.

The Bees head coach said: “He had a knock on Wednesday in training on his hip. We knew that'd be sore and he got another knock but it gave me an opportunity to get Lewis Macleod on.

Went off injured: Josh McEachran

“I was going to bring on Konstantin Kershbaumer but I felt it was better to get Lewis on the pitch and his adrenaline would help us.

“It'll be a big thing for Lewis to get on the pitch after a long time out and it'll give him a boost.”

Brentford seem to be drifting towards a mid-table finish but Smith has not given up on reaching the play-offs.

He added: “There's 16 games left with 48 points to play for. We'll still be going for it. We have to go out every game looking to win for the supporters.”