Michael Beale has held his post-match press conference after the win over Motherwell. Here is everything he had to say.

You cut a frustrated figure during the last ten minutes there?

From the first minute onwards I was unhappy with the team today. The unforced errors with the ball were unacceptable for players playing here. That performance today was a really poor one.

It was a good goal, the goal was something we worked on with trying to overload in the middle with the width, and I thought it was well-worked. But outside of that some of our play was so poor against a team which was in a good place and is well-organised and came here with a plan. They executed their plan better than us because we constantly turned the ball over and left ourselves vulnerable.

Losing Rabbi to injury – and it doesn’t look like a good one – didn’t help us, that’s for sure because we were few and far in our team of players like that today who could outplay and dribble with the ball.

The back three gave us some stability and possession and balance behind the ball and I thought those three played well and John Lundstram in front, and Jack [Butland]. But in terms of a performance that is well below what the players expect, I expect, the fans expect. We got away with one today. I don’t want to take anything away from Motherwell they came here and played well I’m sure Stuart will take a lot from the game. But for me, that’s well below what I am looking for from this team.

Was Thursday night a factor, take too much out of them?

Yeah but I can’t plan the schedule. It is what it is. We played nine games in the first month of the season, we’re playing seven now in 21 days. All of the injuries we’ve got have come through the games so if we lose Rabbi now a long period of time, we lost Tom midweek, those have come through the games which is unfortunate.

But this club has been used to paying in Europe. It did take a big effort against Betis, a big emotional effort, and then we are playing again today. But we know what the schedule is. We only made three changes but the players coming in, the team on paper I am demanding more from them. I’m demanding more from all of us. If we go down that road of ‘tiredness’ it’s a dangerous road because the schedule’s not changing.

Is it a worry that Jack Butland has been your best player this season?

I think any goalkeeper in any team is allowed to make a save. I thought Liam Kelly made a couple of good saves for them as well, equal to what Jack did for us. He came and took one in the air which I thought was really important at the time he did it. Any goalie in any team is allowed to make saves. We have just kept three clean sheets on the bounce so that is a positive when you are not playing well. But he has been needed more than I would have wanted.

Can you update on Matondo and Lawrence injuries?

Tom thought he had cramp and wanted to continue in the game but we didn’t take a risk. The next day he woke up and couldn’t walk so he has gone for a scan. He won’t play this side of the international duty. He has a problem with a calf.

The international duty sounds like it’s longer because that is a two week break but he will return with Todd and Nico and Danilo. Kieran might be back in the middle of the week to play at the weekend but obviously, he’s lacking a bit of fitness.

Rabbi today we think that might be a bad one. He’s taken a blow on the outside of his knee. That’s the information I was given.

Were you angry with the players after? 

We’ve had honest words, yes.

Is that the style of football that you want your team to play?

Listen, I have just sat here and said I want us to play better football. The teams that I have play better football than that and I am sitting here being honest. 

Sima and Roofe came into today’s game with niggles and we need them for Wednesday. So the reality is that we had on the pitch what we had and we had to do something to get a result today, because we weren’t very good. I will leave it there with that. 

On Thursday night we come off over the moon with the second half and the way we played against a better team than we played today. I say that with all respect, it’s not my view that Betis are a better team than Motherwell – it would be everybody’s view. 

So I can’t understand why, at 10 o’clock Thursday you walk off the pitch with that feeling after playing that way. And then turning in the performance we did today. That’s my question to the group and to me and my staff. That performance today wasn’t good enough, but I don’t want to go down that road. 

I have more insight than any one into the schedule we have coming up. We have a quarter final on Wednesday and it would be reckless of me to put those two out on the pitch today with that in mind.

Do you need more from the summer signings?

There is an opportunity for everybody isn’t there? When you play there is an opportunity – so you have to take it. Both sides of the game – out of possession where you work it and in possession with your quality. 

I didn’t think the service they got today was great at times. I felt early in the game that every time we made a forward pass we gave it away. I’m looking for more from this group of players, they know that. I take no comfort from winning that game of football today. 

I don’t take one bit of comfort from that, it wasn’t a game I enjoyed at all. I don’t think the players enjoyed it either. It’s a complete backward step after a forward step on Thursday. We have two more games this week. The game on Wednesday and the game on the weekend is really important again. 

So the games are not going anywhere and we’ve got no players coming back. It’s down to me and that group of players to respond and show better than we did today because today is nowhere near good enough. Nowhere near.

Can you play yourselves into form?

The goal was really good play. If you watch the goal back it was combination play, so in that moment they showed they are more than capable. We are getting in the right areas and the quality just hasn’t been good enough. 

The boys in the dressing room next door know that as well. They are frustrated with themselves and the only thing you have as a coach and player is the next game. The next game is a quarter-final and it’s hugely important but there is massive warning sign around today’s performance. Today’s performance was nowhere near good enough.