Andy Scott has not resorted to the old cliche about being free to concentrate on the league following his side's FA Cup exit on Friday.
The Brentford boss has admitted defeat to Conference side Barrow, in a match shown live on Setanta, was a huge blow for his players.
With a potentially glamorous third-round tie awaiting the winners, the Bees missed their cue to gain a money-spinning tie next month against one of the Premier League's big clubs.
They found the going tough after Ben Hamer was sent off in the first half for conceding the penalty from which Barrow took the lead.
Although Charlie MacDonald equalised after the break, the home side were not to be denied and they now face Premier League side Middlesbrough in the third round.
"Losing the game is a massive blow. We wanted to be in the third round," Scott said.
"If you don't start well, you find it hard to get a foothold and we found ourselves with out goalkeeper sent off before we started."
Hamer got his marching orders after bringing down Jason Walker on the edge of the area. The keeper, who only last week earned praise from the boss for his form, misjudged his slide towards the edge of the box and had to release the ball before he could be penalised for handling. That was when Walker nipped in to steal possession and Hamer fatefully grabbed at the striker's ankles.
David Brown netted from the spot. Matt Henney netted the winner for the euphoric non-leaguers.
Scott said: "Ben is not happy. He knpows he made a mistake. He was going to slide out of the box, he should have kicked it. He made a poor decision."
