Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was disappointed with the performance his players produced in their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday.

The Cottagers were left flat-footed when Villa went ahead early in the match and never recovered.

Hodgson could not pinpoint the reasons why and was left to ponder how his squad could improve going forward.

"I don't really know the reasons (for the performance)," he told Sky Sports.

"I don't really think it was a very good performance from our point of view, in particular the first goal which we conceded so needlessly after three minutes. It put us on the back foot.

"And then of course we are meeting a very strong and determined Villa team. We were unable to really trouble them enough in the first half.

"In the second half we kept the ball better and made a slightly better effort at it, but then of course we conceded the second goal.

"We have got to come to terms with those things, we have got to learn how to deal with it.

"We have got to find more energy, we have got to work harder and we have got to get together and play better as units."