Lincoln City joint head coach Tom Shaw says the ruthless reality of the Championship was made clear to his side after they lost their first home game in the second tier after a 65-year absence.
Portsmouth beat Lincoln 3-1 on what was a milestone occasion at Sincil Bank for the newly promoted Imps.
Lincoln came up as League One title winners and had not lost a league game at home for more than 10 months before being upstaged by Portsmouth.
With Lincoln romping to promotion with 103 points last season, Shaw said dealing with back-to-back defeats - having been beaten by Middlesbrough a week earlier - is not something Lincoln are used to.
And yet Shaw said there has been "no real surprise" in the opening games of the season, which included the Carabao Cup first-round triumph against fellow Championship side Derby County.
"If you get it wrong, you get hurt," he told BBC Sport. "That's our early reflections on the three games against teams at this level.
"We knew physically we would be fine, and it is never in question the way the lads go about it and their mentality to that.
"This is more concentration, being ready, being prepared and being wired in, talking to each other and whatever it needs to be to solve a few problems."
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Lincoln were 2-0 down inside 16 minutes against Portsmouth on Saturday before Reeco Hackett pulled a goal back from the penalty spot.
Ebou Adams came off the bench to score a thumping third from 25 yards out for the visitors in the second half, condemning the side that finished last season on a 29-game unbeaten league run to a pointless start to the new campaign.
"It's a different challenge this year. Success will look different to what it did last season," said Shaw, who took on the job as Imps head coach in tandem with Chris Cohen during the summer.
"The lads care so much. The dressing is down because it's a feeling we've not had loads of.
"But we'll patch it up, we'll speak to them, fill in with loads of belief."
Lincoln visit League One side Blackpool in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday before a return to league action at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
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