Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy said his side fell "below standards" on Saturday, disappointed with a 2-2 draw that saw their lead at the top of League One cut in half.
While the Bluebirds had to settle for a point at Burton, Lincoln continued their impressive form beating Wigan 1-0 to reduce the gap behind Cardiff to just two points.
An Alex Robertson double had put Cardiff ahead midway through the second half at the Pirelli Stadium and Barry-Murphy was "not pleased" with the manner in which his side conceded a late equaliser.
"We always want to win and I felt once we got in front we would win, but today we didn't score enough goals to allow that to happen," said the City boss.
Saturday's result means the Brewers have now taken four points off the league leaders in their own bid for survival and Barry-Murphy acknowledged Burton's strength.
"They are very direct and create momentum with long throws and free-kicks," the 47-year-old added.
"We felt the best way to defend was to attack throughout the game."
Disappointed with a first half display that saw his side a goal down at the break, the Irishman was pleased with the response as Robertson's brace put them ahead with half an hour to play.
"The players implemented from the first minute of the second half what I wanted at half-time," Barry-Murphy said.
"We expect players like Alex Robertson, Joel Colwill, Dave Turnbull and Omari Kellyman to arrive in the box and show their quality, and Alex did that well."
However, a free-kick in the final 10 minutes denied Cardiff all three points.
"It's disappointing to concede like we did, but that can happen," Barry-Murphy added.
Still boasting the league's third-best defence, Cardiff now turn their attention to Saturday's trip to Rotherham, where they may face academy product Gabriel Biancheri who joined The Millers on deadline day on loan from Manchester United.
"Our focus is on trying to win the next game. Our intention is to be a dominant team in this league," concluded Barry-Murphy.
