City, who have only notched consecutive league victories on two occasions this season, were outclassed by Sydney FC in a 3-0 defeat at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.

“Football is a simple game when you play consistently well and we haven’t found that this season,” Brattan told Fox Sports.

“No one likes losing but credit to Sydney they’re a fantastic team.

“That’s why they’ve got the premiership, they’ve been consistently the best team all year.

“They’re tough to break down and they’re good going forward.

“We worked extremely hard, we battled with them and then in the end their class just showed.”

City have now lost two on the trot and face a fight to keep hold of third spot, with Brisbane Roar able to open up a three-point gap if they beat Central Coast Mariners on Sunday.

“It’s disappointing,” Brattan said of his team’s form.

“We’ll concentrate on Friday night, Adelaide at home, and hopefully results go our way and we can sew up third place.”