West Brom boss: We weren't good enough to beat Wigan Athletic
Latics skipper Sam Morsy scored the only goal at the Hawthorns with 17 minutes remaining.
It could have been even worse for the Baggies, with Jamal Lowe squandering a one-on-one opportunity in the dying seconds to make it 2-0.
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Hide AdAt the other end, the Baggies didn't offer nearly enough threat against a Latics backline who recorded a third clean sheet on the spin.
And Bilic was the first to admit he was disappointed with his side's efforts.
“We were flat and didn’t have that energy, spark or the determination to take control of the game," he said.
“It’s very disappointing, but we have to say a draw would’ve been fair but no more than that.
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Hide Ad“We didn’t manage the ball well, we weren’t direct and failed to keep the ball.
"Yes they are a good team that is in form, but so are we.
“We tried from the bench to make changes but unfortunately it didn’t work out.
"And we can’t say we were unlucky today, we were simply not good enough.
“There’s no point of being down or moaning now.
"We can’t doubt ourselves, and tomorrow I want to see happy faces on the training ground, and very determined ones to know what we’ve done wrong today, and to do everything to jump back on the winning track.”
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Hide AdWest Brom had gone into the game top of the form table over the last seven matches.
But Latics were the second-best side on that ladder, and Bilic didn't even feel fatigue was a factor in the two sides' third game in a week.
“We spoke with the sports science guy," the Baggies boss revealed.
“We looked well, and looked well mentally of course, because you’ve won five of the last six.
"We have the belief but it didn’t look good.
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Hide Ad“We knew it was going to be a hard game, but it didn’t look like we were tired or whatever on data, or talking to the players yesterday - we looked okay.
“We didn’t have that energy, team energy that we had recently and in this league you have to have it, otherwise your chances drop, big time.”