Dean Smith felt Aston Villa created enough chances to win a number of games during their draw against Burnley on Thursday night.
The home side’s swift attacking play saw them fire 27 shots to the Clarets’ six, but a mixture of wayward finishing, Nick Pope and the frame of the goal denied them a winner.
Head coach Smith was pleased with the fluency of the display after making four changes – three of them enforced – to the team that beat Wolves at the weekend.
He said: “My only concern was that we didn’t work the goalkeeper enough.
“There was some great movement to get us into those positions. We tweaked the shape today because of the way Burnley play and made four changes, so that tested us today.
“To get a performance like that, I can’t be disappointed. I’m disappointed with the result – the players are too because we had enough chances to win two or three games.”
Anwar El Ghazi, Kortney Hause, Marvelous Nakamba and Ahmed Elmohamady all made their first Premier League starts of the season against Burnley.
Smith said the situation regarding selection for the game had tested his players, but he was pleased to see them come through the other side after putting in a strong performance.
“I must commend Elmo and Kortney on their first starts of the season. They came in and did a great job,” he said.
“This was the first time our squad’s been tested. Matty Cash and Douglas Luiz were both suspended, Ezri Konsa was ill, Trezeguet and Ross Barkley were injured, it was a test and the squad came out of it really, really well today.
“Anwar, with his technique, would expect himself to score two or three of the chances he had.
“I wasn’t worried about previous results here; I just wanted my players to keep putting in good performances because that’s what leads to results.”
