Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has said that his team were very unfortunate to lose to Southampton this afternoon.

The Villans went down 1-0 at Villa Park, courtesy of a Rickie Lambert penalty kick midway through the first half, which was awarded against Enda Stevens for an alleged trip on Jay Rodriguez.

"We did not deserve to lose but that is the way things are going for us," the Villa boss told BBC Sport. "It was never a penalty. We had a lot of chances again, and we are creating a lot at the moment. If the players keep that up we will start to get more wins.

"I have seen the penalty replay at half time and unless you are 100% you cannot give a penalty. It is evident it was never a penalty.

"Enda Stevens was not even close to him and that is the most hurtful thing. I think referee Mark Halsey will be embarrassed by that."

Villa have now taken one point from their last five Premier League games.