Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bemoaned a poor first-half performance from his Manchester United side after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Red Devils had the opportunity to close the gap on the Premier League's top four but fell behind to an early strike from Villa captain Jack Grealish at Old Trafford.
Solskjaer's side struggled during the first 45 minutes but struck just before half-time when Marcus Rashford forced an own goal from Tom Heaton.
Despite improving after the break and taking the lead in the 64th minute through Victor Lindelof's header, United had to settle for one point as Tyrone Mings volleyed home an equaliser just moments later.
"First half today wasn't good enough," admitted Solskjaer after the game. "Their first goal knocked us emotionally, we didn't compete until half-time.
"The boys have character, they're young, they have loads of energy and the second half was miles better, but it's a game of two halves as everyone says.
"These boys will improve and learn from this experience. As a club we don't like to be in this position but that's the reality. Wednesday we have a big game, Saturday, these boys are looking forward to every game."
He continued: "Inconsistency will happen. In moments we played fantastic and at times we were too open.
"We failed to control the game but we cant do anything about that now.
"We have to work on us as a team and become a better unit. Aston Villa had too many counter-attacks for my liking."
Victory over Aston Villa would have seen United move up to fifth - just six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea after Frank Lampard's were beaten by West Ham on Saturday.
Instead, Solskjaer's men are still eight points adrift of the Champions League places ahead of a difficult run that will see them play Tottenham and local rivals Man City in the next seven days
Wednesday's game with Spurs will be the Red Devils' first meeting with former boss Jose Mourinho since he was sacked by the club a year ago.
