Aston Villa boss Dean Smith was furious after their 3-0 collapse at Watford.

Villa suffered the reverse despite the dismissal of Watford defender Adrian Mariappa with the score at 1-0.

Asked why he looked so frustrated in the dugout, Smith said: “I was angry at my players, I was angry with them at half time because we didn't play well enough. We probably lost the game in the first half.

“We started the second half OK, little more life about us and they go down to ten men and you think you've got a really good chance of getting back into it. And then there's two goals that are comical."

Troy Deeney scored his second of the game from the penalty spot, a decision which Smith took great exception to. When asked to comment on the goal, he initially replied: “I can't, I'll get myself into trouble."

He then added: “Matt Targett goes down with a hamstring injury, Jack [Grealish] is on the ball, Jack doesn't know, keeps playing – they win the ball and they play on and go and win a penalty.

“I've seen the penalty and it's shoulder to shoulder, Troy has gone down very easily, if that goes to VAR then it's a mistake. If the referee is allowed to walk over to a screen, which is 30 yards away, he would look it and say: 'Sorry I've made a boo-boo'. We're not allowed to do that apparently."

Ismaila Sarr completed the rout, but it was another goal that left the Villa boss apoplectic on the Vicarage Road touchline.

“And then the third goal there's a foul right in front of me. They've got the protection of VAR , if they score they can still go back. It's a foul, the lad goes through the back of Jack.

“Listen, forget the second half, we lost the game in the first half because my players weren't good enough."