Monday, 24th March, 2014
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has admitted that his side did not deserve anything following their 4-1 loss to Stoke City yesterday.
Christian Benteke opened the scoring for the Villains at Villa Park, but the visitors raced to a 3-1 lead by the 42nd minute, courtesy of goals from Peter Odemwingie, Peter Crouch and Steven N'Zonzi.
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Geoff Cameron then rounded off the scoring in the dying moments of the match as Aston Villa succumbed to their 14th Premier League loss of the season.
And Lambert, who was displeased with Villa’s lacklustre performance for the better part of the match, acknowledged that his side were “second best.”
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"We made a great start. That whole performance was very unlike us after the start”, the manager told his club’s official site.
"We looked lethargic and never really got going. We tried to get a goal back but it never materialised. It was a performance that wasn't like us.
"We never got going after that opening 20 minutes. We never defended well at all. The goals were poor. We were second best.
"What disappoints me isn't just the goals, it was the lack of energy. Sometimes that can happen, you can be a bit lethargic when you think your legs aren't taking you when you want to go. I understand that. We never got going.
"I can't be too critical. The players have done great these past few weeks but they didn't deserve anything today.”
However, Lambert has called on Aston Villa not to dwell on the result and instead wants his side to come out with a positive result against Manchester United at the weekend.
"You don't dwell on it now. You pick yourself and go again. That's the important thing. We have a young group but we will bounce back from it", he added.
"You get knocked down but you get up and go for more. That's what we will do this week."
Aston Villa are currently 11th in the Premier League standings with 34 points from 30 fixtures.
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