Mark Hughes admitted that Stoke City's sluggish start cost them a 'desperately disappointing' 2-1 Premier League defeat to Burnley at the Britannia Stadium.
Danny Ings scored twice in the first 13 minutes, with his goals separated by less than 90 seconds, and the Clarets hung on after Jonathan Walters pulled one back.
Hughes felt that the Potters were "totally dominant" for much of the match, but conceded that his side cannot allow opponents to move into a two-goal lead so easily and expect to win points in the top flight.
"We're disappointed with the opening period of the game and that's what has cost us the three points," he told reporters.
"[Erik] Pieters failed a fitness test and our back four was thrown together this morning, but we're still a team that should not allow the opponent to go into a 2-0 lead.
"From our point of view we are desperately disappointed, we gave ourselves too much to do. It's a difficult league to gain points in, but in certain games you need to do better in and this is one of them. We were totally dominant."
Stoke drop to 10th in the table after failing to build on their victory at Tottenham Hotspur prior to the international break.
Joe Fish
