Thomas Frank said he must “remain calm” in his role as Brentford manager despite the 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace, his team's seventh in eight games.
The Bees now sit 15th in the Premier League and just four points above the relegation zone.
Frank is not believed to be at risk of losing his job, and insisted the club must continue to trust the processes that have seen them rise to the Premier League and most recently a ninth-place finish during his five years as manager.
"I would say I’m burning inside because I lost a football match, but I know the quality of our squad and I know some players are coming back," Frank said. "Of course, we’d like to win a game soon, but I also know that I need to remain calm and be in control of everything.
"That’s what we’ve done the five years I’ve been here. It’s luckily been mostly ups and a few downs. We all come through them in a good them.
"The decisive factors today were the quality in both boxes and the decisiveness in the crucial actions in both boxes. I spoke about [Michael] Olise and [Eberechi] Eze before the game. Two fantastic offensive players — two of the best, in my opinion, in the league. If we could keep them quiet, it could have been different. We would have won 1-0!”
Ivan Toney is available to play again in Brentford’s next Premier League game against Nottingham Forest on January 20 following the winter break and the end of his ban.
“Very important,” he said of Toney’s return. “The next game we don’t have [Yoane] Wissa because he’s at the Africa Cup of Nations, so that’s like-for-like. We need an offensive player with the injuries we have. Of course, he’s a top player and we look forward very much to getting him back."
Reflecting after the final match of Brentford’s year, Frank added: "Overall, a very positive 2023.
"The first part of 2023 was extremely positive in so many ways. Our highest position in the Premier League and some fantastic wins and performances in the spring.
"We went into our expected transition-in-the-team season with David [Raya] out and Ivan [Toney] definitely out for half of the season. We managed that very well, and then we’ve been hit with a tsunami of injuries that has made it actually a bit more challenging for us. Overall, very positive. Let’s finish this bad run now and start on a positive run in the new year."
