STEVE Bruce could not hide his disappointment after seeing Sunderland go out of the Carling Cup.
"It's just been a very, very disappointing night for me.
"I've just seen my team push one of the very best sides outside the top four all the way and, although this is just my opinion, I've come away feeling convinced that over the course of the g
ame, we've deserved to win, deserved to go through."
"We didn't play well at Birmingham and I called for a performance in the cup to make up for it after that game," he said.
"I certainly got it, I thought our overall display was very good.
"In my view we deserved to win but their goalkeeper had one of those games he'll remember for the rest of his life and it just wasn't our night."
Bruce was in no doubt about what cost Sunderland their chance of getting into the last eight - a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.
"When you play against a top team like Aston Villa you can only hope to create, on any given day, four or five chances at best.
"We did that on the night and I couldn't have asked more of my players in that respect but despite creating those chances, we didn't take any of them.
"And at this level you have to take your chances or you pay the sort of price we've paid. It's what Premier League football is all about."
Plenty of players impressed on the night but young Jordan Henderson caught the eye of most for an incredibly energetic display which ended in despair after he saw both a goal-bound volley in normal time and a penalty in the shoot-out saved.
The Sunderland manager said: "The lad has been terrific and he's certainly in my thoughts for a place in the starting line-up since Lee Cattermole picked up his medial ligament injury the other week.
"I think we have a very, very good player on our hands and games like this will help to bring him through.
"He was broken-hearted in the dressing room because he'd missed a penalty but he didn't deserve to be because he was excellent.
"He's very disappointed as we all are but he'll learn from it.
"The good thing for me is that we've played against Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool here and pushed them all the way.
"I've got no doubts that if we play like that on Saturday we'll be OK against West Ham.
"The one worrying thing though is that injuries are starting to become a concern – George McCartney took a knock on his hip. Fraizer Campbell has a muscle problem. Bolo Zenden nipped his hamstring in training, John Mensah still has a calf problem and Darren Bent's knee is a worry.
"So we'll just get back on to the training ground over the next couple of days, look at our recovery and try to lift ourselves again."
