Shane Duffy does not believe Albion’s FA Cup exit is a blessing in disguise.

The Seagulls reached a Wembley semi-final last season before going out to Manchester City but fell at the first hurdle on Saturday with a 1-0 loss to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

The centre-half tried to get in a block as Adam Reach’s low strike from a free-kick took a deflection.

Although Premier League safety remains the priority, Duffy took no consolation from the fact Albion can now focus all their efforts on the league.

He said: “You never want to lose.

“You saw last year the moments that you can have. The FA Cup run was special for a lot of players and we wanted to repeat that this year.

“It wasn’t our day, we didn’t perform and if you don’t perform you lose games.

“The manager demands from every player who is involved to be at that high level and that is what he wants.

“We dropped our standards but it is all about the reaction now.”