The midweek loss was Palace's third in four games - a dismal run that has seen the Eagles drop from sixth down to tenth.
And Freedman says the boss gave his side a dressing down after the latest setback.
"In no uncertain terms he has told us what he wants," Freedman told the official site.
"We've got good players and a good manager but sometimes you can get carried away with yourself.
"We got in a play-off position and received a certain amount of media attention and it can affect players in different ways.
"Unfortunately it's affected one or two players in their performances but we've got a good manager who knows better than anyone - he has won six promotions - that to stand any chance of going up we need to get back to basics.
"That's what he's told the lads in the dressing room. He has told us what he expects and doesn't expect so we have to do our own jobs, work hard for each other and he will take any sort of blame that comes his way."