Cowan wants Brackley to use midweek defeat as fuel against Farsley Celtic
Gavin Cowan felt Tuesday night's 1-0 defeat to King's Lynn Town was a fair result.
And he wants his players to use the home loss as fuel for Saturday's away game against Farsley Celtic.
Brackley faced a tough task against a well-organised King's Lynn side, who secured an impressive victory at St James Park.
It was a frustrating night for Cowan's men, who had beaten Chester FC 2-1 just three days earlier.
And the Brackley boss said: "It was one I didn't feel we started very well; certainly for the first 35 minutes we didn't really look at the races.
"Credit to King's Lynn because they came out of the traps and really put it on us so at half-time we were fortunate to go in at 0-0.
"The last 10 minutes of the first half we started to get a grasp of the game and could have had a goal or two ourselves but we were fortunate to go in at 0-0.
"The second half was closely contested. We decided we were going to turn up a bit more and apply ourselves, and I can't fault the lads' endeavour, attitude and application but against teams like this, you have to concentrate.
"We left someone unmarked like that and you can't do that at this level.
"In terms of players' concentration and focus, you've got to do it for the whole game, so it was probably a bit of a fair result if I'm totally honest.
"We would have liked to have nicked a draw but as chances go, they're probably deserving of the win."
Brackley are now seven points behind King's Lynn, who have moved up to second in Vanarama National League North.
And this weekend, the Saints will look to get back on track against 20th-placed Farsley.
"It was a tough night on Tuesday, you never like to lose at home - and we've probably lost too many for my liking," Cowan added.
"We had been on an incredible run, we're still in the mix, we're hopeful of players coming back any time within the next two to four weeks so we've got to work hard and try to get our rewards.
"It's on to Saturday.
"It will be another tough game on an awkward pitch so we're going to have to recalibrate and try to get to Saturday and get what we need, which is maximum points.
"There's a lot of adversity but no one's going to feel sorry for us.
"We need to come back and use what happened on Tuesday to spur us on this Saturday."
With injuries and suspensions continuing to bite Brackley, Cowan has recently drafted in a couple of fresh faces.
Winger Dempsey Arlott-John signed on a permanent deal from Rushall Olympic, while Stoke City defender Jake Griffin has arrived on a one-month loan.
Both came off the bench on Tuesday night.
On Arlott-John, Cowan said: "He did really well.
"We wanted something different, someone to unlock a door, and as that ball turned over, we started to gather a bit of momentum.
"We had nothing to lose in the last 15 minutes so we really threw caution to the wind.
"Dempsey came on and really applied himself, as did Jez. They're two young lads who have got an abundance of skill.
"With the amount of injuries and suspensions we've got now, we've had to be very creative with the starting line-up, moving it around during the game.
"We're struggling to fill a bench at the moment, but everyone's got their injury problems and stuff going on so we just have to concentrate on ourselves and control the controllables."