Aston Villa boss Dean Smith his side were simply “not good enough” and claimed a lack of “fight” as they lost 2-0 to Southampton.
The Saints dominated the first half in particular, with Shane Long’s goal giving the home side the lead early on.
But Villa remained in the game up until the final seconds before Stuart Armstrong wrapped up the three points for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
Smith’s side remain just one point off the relegation zone, and the Villa boss was not happy with the performance.
He told Match of the Day: “We never laid a glove on them in the first 20 minutes. I try to defend the players but today was not good enough. They were miles off it in the first half. A bit better in the second half. It was a game that could have been won but we didn’t create enough and didn’t defend enough. They were deserved winners.
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“Jack Grealish got in behind them right from kick off and then they went long. They were getting shots and we were getting blocks. We can’t keep talking about getting good starts. Not starting well is a concern.
“We can’t play that bad again. It gave me a lot of heart seeing them against Tottenham but today was dreadful.
“The fight disappointed me in the first half. There was a bit more fight in the second half. I will take responsibility for the performance because I am the one who picks them.”
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