Daniel Farke called for realism after a goalless stalemate between Leeds United and Crystal Palace.
The Whites ran all over Newcastle United in a 4-1 win at Elland Road on Monday evening, but they could not mimic that steamroller of a showing in their final fixture before the international break.
Unbeaten start in the Premier League
Leeds are still unbeaten in the Premier League with a record of two victories and three draws, having gone undefeated in their first five topflight fixtures for the first time since the 2001/02 season.
The club continue to stabilise in the English top tier, and the manager made clear that he will not be too upset about this result given the state of the side.
Nevertheless, as standards seek to rise, there was room for critical reflection in his post-match press conference about what could have been better.
‘It was not our best game and a bit scruffy’
"You can't expect to have 38 games of magical nights under the lights when you always overrun your opponents. We faced a difficult Crystal Palace side and it was not our best game and a bit scruffy at the end. But the team had to fight and dig in and it was defensively excellent so I'm happy with that.
"Dominic Calvert-Lewin had an excellent chance in the second half and sometimes you want to take a dirty one-nil but I'm quite happy with the clean sheet and to extend our unbeaten run.
"In the last 30 minutes it was a bit of a basketball game and I'm happy with how we handled their counter attacks. A clean sheet, a draw, so we have to accept it.
"We have heart, spirit and tactically we can adapt. We have strong unity in the dressing room. After an intense opening [to the season], it's important we have a bit of time to recover."
