DERBY County head coach Steve McClaren admitted Wigan Athletic deserved their 2-1 win at the iPro Stadium.
The Rams' 12-match unbeaten run was ended by the Latics on Saturday, despite going ahead through John Eustace.
Substitute James McClean netted twice after the break as Derby suffered their first home defeat since March.
"We didn't get going and Wigan came with a game plan and in the end they deserved to win," said McClaren.
"We have no qualms about the result and you don't get a result if you put in performances like that.
"I'm not so much angry about the result as the way we played. Credit to Wigan, they stopped us playing and I think we were too focused on the result rather than putting in a performance, we never played with freedom we normally do.
"It's a big lesson because when you get up there you have to perform every week, you can't have an off day and we had an off day. In the end we got exactly what we deserved, we've got no excuses today. What hurts is not losing, it's the manner in which we did."
