Former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan says that he simply cannot defend the Whites' performance in their 3-0 defeat away at Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday afternoon.
Leeds were looking to pile further pressure on a struggling Owls outfit at Hillsborough, but failed to turn up as the hosts dominated the Championship game.
Gary Hooper handed Wednesday the lead with 25 minutes on the clock before then striking again in the 41st minute to send Leeds in at the break 2-0 down.
The gloss was then put on a fine performance when Kieran Lee drilled in a superb shot from 30 yards out to score the Owls' third and inflict on Leeds a third league loss in four games, and their third league loss on the bounce on the road.
Whelan says he simply cannot defend how Leeds played and had the Whites lost by a heavier scoreline then they could have had few complaints.
relatedNewsStory
"You can't defend that performance. It wasn't good enough and you've got to be honest about it", he said on BBC Radio Leeds.
"Too many players were just bystanders and there was not enough quality.
"For Sheffield Wednesday it could have been four, five or six and it probably wouldn't have looked any worse than it was.
"You deserve to lose football matches if you defend that slackly.
"We are a soft touch sometimes", Whelan added.
Despite another league defeat, Leeds still sit fifth in the Championship table and have taken 20 points from their opening eleven matches.
They also remain unbeaten at Elland Road.
