Although it would be too harsh to say Albion performed like cowboys at Brentford, Sami Hyypia admitted there was a touch of the "wild, wild West" about their third defeat out of six in the Championship.

They paid for their charging approach in the first half, which was ruthlessly exploited by a team maintaining the vibrancy accompanying promotion.

Supporters, not just of Albion but all clubs, are greedy. They want to see their team win and entertain.

That is the ideal but winning dourly is preferable to losing excitingly.

Albion were accused by some of being boring to watch with Oscar Garcia in charge last season.

It is worth noting that, after also losing their first two league matches under the Spaniard, they were not beaten again until their ninth game at Ipswich at the end of September.

Go back further and the breathless goal feast in wild, wild west London was the type of contest Gus Poyet detested, devoid of the control he craved from his side.

Hyypia is not naive. He does not set the team up simply to outscore the opposition.

He was a no-nonsense centre-half, remember, and Albion were far too open defensively for his likely in the opening 45 minutes at Griffin Park.

It is not just the defence. Hyypia said: "In forward movements sometimes we lose the ball a little bit too easily and the opposition in that situation can counter-attack."

That has also made a contribution to the concession of seven goals in the last three games.

Hyypia admitted: "You can't go into the game with that kind of attitude that we'll play like open doors or wild, wild west and then have confidence that we will score one more than the opposition.

"I don't think football is going that way, so we need to talk about that, work on it a bit on the training field and hopefully we can correct it ready for Tuesday (at Ipswich)."

There were mitigating factors for this setback following the first international break. That gave Hyypia a chance to integrate the flurry of new signings but his revamped side is still an early work in progress.

"After the first two games in the league we signed seven players and they didn't come on one day," he said. "It takes time for the players to get my ideas in their heads and I think as the season goes on we can only get better, defending and to be a little bit more patient in defending.

"Here in England everybody is used to a tempo right from the start and press very high but you save your legs a little bit when you defend more compactly and when the strikers don't have to close down very early and run a lot."

Also at Brentford Albion came perilously close three times to scoring the crucial first goal. Andrew Crofts struck a post from 20 yards, Joao Teixeira just failed to reach a cross from Sam Baldock and Baldock, on his full debut, was denied by a clearance off the line after rounding the keeper.

Hyypia's Seagulls have won all three matches when they have scored first (Cheltenham, Leeds and eventually Swindon).

They recovered four points at home from deficits against Bolton and Charlton and showed character again at Brentford in twice halving their arrears but, as Hyypia remarked: "When we have to chase the game it's not a great situation to be in."

They were chasing this time due, almost inevitably, to a goal from former transfer target Moses Odubajo. The winger bought by the Bees from Leyton Orient for £1 million outran the cover to convert from an angle.

Albion should have been chasing sooner. Lewis Dunk was the last man when he fouled Andre Gray on the edge of the area. It warranted a red card, not yellow.

Gray subsequently slotted in a cross from left-back Jake Bidwell to add a cushion for Brentford which Gordon Greer rapidly deflated by driving in Crofts' header from Danny Holla's corner when unmarked at the far post.

The captain had a volley from another Holla corner disallowed for an infringement by Dunk, who was replaced by Aaron Hughes for the second half.

Dunk, the two-goal hero against Charlton, endured a torrid 45 minutes but it was not entirely of his own making. The centre-halves had no protection when Brentford counter-attacked.

The hosts' exploitation of the spaces was emphasised by Bidwell popping up as provider again with a cross headed in by Jonathan Douglas to restore their two-goal lead after the break.

The last goal, of a breathless hour, was the best. The jinking, elusive Teixeira set up Holla for a 20-yard curler into the top corner.

It was a beauty from the Dutchman but Albion could not build on it to rescue a result.

Teixeira, pretty subdued otherwise against the club who cut short his loan spell last season, was substituted in the quest for parity.

Hyypia said: "He is still a young player and they maybe have more ups and downs than more experienced players."

That comment could just as easily have been applied to Dunk's contrasting fortunes in consecutive games.

Brentford were the perkiest Championship opponents Albion have faced so far but there will still be tougher tests, including Forest, Cardiff and Watford in the space of a week prior to the next international break.

They could do with a healthy haul of points before then at Ipswich tomorrow night and from Blackpool's visit on Saturday, whether entertaining or not.