Daniel Farke admitted Norwich City spurned their last chance at getting back in the Premier League relegation fight after a 1-0 home defeat to Brighton behind closed doors at Carrow Road.

Leandro Trossard cashed in on Timm Klose’s initial misplaced pass to leave the Canaries seven points from safety with just five games left.

Norwich have failed to score one goal or take a point since the Premier League resumed.

“We knew it was more or less the last chance to be back in the mix,” he said. “We are not relegated but we all know it was more or less the last chance. So we are disappointed with the outcome. For the development of the club and a lot of the young players it is important to feel this pain.

“I want my players after the game to be devastated. Then you value the good moments, the successes. It is a tough day.

“This game summed up our whole season. We were on the front foot but didn’t have this cutting edge. Then one mistake. We were too greedy and played a vertical pass and instead of dropping to repair the situation we stepped out.

“On this level, Brighton punished us with their only chance in the first half.

“We showed a good reaction then. Different formations, different players. We had six or seven crosses in front of the goal and none of the strikers smelt this situation. Then it would be an easy tap in. We didn’t have enough quality to score.

“Then right at the end Adam Idah’s header hits the post. I don’t know how. We invested a lot, dominated in many periods but didn’t have the cutting edge or the quality to play without any mistakes.”

Farke left Teemu Pukki and Todd Cantwell out of his starting line up.

“There is a lot of workload for the players. We play every three days. Teemu and Todd started the last two days,” he said. “We arrived back in the early hours of Thursday morning, a quick turnaround.

“If I am honest they looked a bit tired in the last game. You have to be realistic.

“You can’t just live in the past and look at what happened 12 months ago.

“I am totally happy with Todd’s development and he had a good spotlight game against Manchester United. But in the 12 league games he had no goals or no assists.

“It is not like we can’t win a game without Todd in the side.

“The same with Teemu. I always back him. I am always there for him but he has not won the games alone for us. We do not have one standout player. We need intensity as a team.

“I back all my players and I am happy to work with Todd and Teemu is a fantastic player.

“But we have lost a few games in a row so we have to rotate.”