Steve Clarke admitted Scotland cannot make errors against teams like Poland if they want to end their poor run of form.
The Tartan Army suffered another loss, meaning they have not won just once in 13 matches.
Poland took a 2-0 lead in the Nations League match before Scotland battled back through Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay.
But it was not enough as the visitors were awarded a penalty in stoppage time to take all three points.
Reflecting on the game, Clarke said: “I’m disappointed to lose a game like that, a game we shouldn’t lose.
“But if you make errors at this level you get punished.
“There were lots of good things but it’s still a defeat.
“Everyone is disappointed. We lost a game we shouldn’t have lost.
🗣️ ‘If you make small mistakes at this level you get punished’
Steve Clarke reflects on Scotland’s defeat to Poland.#SCOPOL #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/PaMlZwBN0b
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) September 5, 2024
“It’s not about picking out individuals, I never do that and I’m not going to start now.
“We win as a team, we lose as a team. We’ll analyse the game and speak in camp.”
Lyndon Dykes had a brilliant chance in the first half to level proceedings but fluffed his lines at the crucial moment.
The striker believes it is important for Scotland to get back to what they know ahead of the match against Portugal on Sunday.
He added: “We thought we were the better team, but it’s frustrating the way it went. You can’t be conceding that many goals.
“There’s been a few changes on the training pitch. We’ve been working on a lot of things.
“I think you could see we were trying to press high and be the dominant team on the ball and make chances. We did all that, it just wasn’t our night.
“We need to go back to basics. We know what we are capable of and we need to stick together because we are a family, and I’m sure the results will come again.”
