By Aston Villa FC

Ian Maatsen admitted Sunday’s Premier League draw at home to West Ham United left a bitter taste.

The Villans took an early lead through Jacob Ramsey’s fine effort, an advantage they held for over an hour, though were pegged back by Emerson’s header 20 minutes from time.

Maatsen felt he and his teammates got dragged into a scrappy game and, although disappointed they couldn’t maintain their strong start, wants focus to immediately shift to the next game.

Ian Maatsen

He said: “It’s a bit bitter. We started excellent the first half, when I was watching off the bench.

“And then, obviously a lot of changes [through] injury, and we had to adapt quick.

“So, [I] came on and it was a lot of duels, a lot of physical [play], both teams.

“The games get more tough when it’s 1-0. They’re still believing, they had a few chances, and it was a scrappy game.

“We started very well. It’s unlucky we couldn’t continue the form we started, but it’s important we didn’t lose here.

“These types of games are good for us. We have to stay positive, take the point, keep going, and focus on our next game.”

Ian Maatsen

With the visit of the Hammers falling in between two big Champions League outings, the Dutch defender admitted the fixture schedule has provided its challenges this season.

Maatsen, however, views this as a positive, and wants Villa to have no excuses, heading into each game.

The 22-year-old added: “It’s tough. There’s so many games, but there’s no excuse to go less pace. Every game is tough, but we try our best, 100%.

“The table’s very tight, but we have to keep it game to game. We didn’t lose today, so hopefully the next game will be better.

“Now we have to just recover, and focus on our next game.”

Ian Maatsen