Asked if the 3-0 defeat was the worst of the campaign, Paul Trollope said: “Yes, absolutely. Especially the first period where we lacked a lot of things with and without the ball.
“We didn't get anywhere near the level we want or expect. Sometimes you can accept it if you don't function with the ball or get your attacking play going in certain spells or even games, but you have to have the basics in place and we didn't have that.
“We didn't have that in terms of defensive responsibility or defensive desire and for those two things to not be there in the first period was very disappointing and there are apologies to the travelling supporters who came a long way and saw a performance that was unacceptable.
“We can talk about systems and ways of playing, but there are basics requirements to do well in games and they were lacking.
“That was the message to the players. We can talk all day about system, what works and doesn't. but there are basic requirements in football that are needed in terms of desire, hunger and to show a drive with and without the ball, a bit of heart.
“It was unacceptable and we have a lot of work to do to put a lot of things right before Saturday.”
Leeds – who have had their own struggles under Garry Monk this season – eased their worries before Saturday's televised clash with a win over Blackburn, the only opposition Cardiff have bettered this season.
And, of the league position, Trollope said: “Of course we're concerned. We've looked at all the performances very closely. I'm always honest and I believe I'm fair in my reflection and we could have had a few more points in those first five or six games; we got exactly what we deserved here.
“We didn't deserve to be going home with anything. The one win in the first group of games is not what we've worked hard for and we have to turn things around quickly.
“We will have to regroup, show a lot of strength of character and personality. We need to show the strength of the group to bounce back.”
Simon Grayson thought Preston's performance was flawless as they recorded their first league victory at Deepdale in seven months with a 3-0 success over Cardiff.
A winless run on home soil which had dated back to February 23 was ended when Tom Clarke and Callum Robinson scored within six first-half minutes and Jordan Hugill curled in a late third.
North End came into this game having lost five of their opening six fixtures, yet Grayson had remained calm and was delighted to see their slump ended in such convincing fashion.
"I'm really pleased, you can't fault anything that we've done tonight," he said.
"It's an addition to how we played in the second half against Barnsley, we carried that forward. We've spoken about it a lot with the players and watched it again a couple of times and kept on telling them to believe that what they're doing is the right thing.
"Nobody's happy with the start we've had, there have been frustrations for everybody, but we've known what we've been trying to do.
"I said after the game on Saturday, if we play like we did a result is around the corner and the players have maintained the belief, they're all together.
"We've said there's only a certain number of people that can change the run that we're on and that's the ones within the dressing room."