Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill said his side's performance against West Ham on Wednesday was not deserving of a loss.

Villa managed to equalise through Ashley Young after a first-half Mark Noble penalty put the Hammers in front at Upton Park but the visitors were dealt a cruel blow in injury time when Zavon Hines netted the winner.

O'Neill admitted his disappointment after the match but said he does not believe his side should have walked away empty-handed.

"Well obviously we're disappointed - disappointed to have lost the game," he told Sky Sports.

"I don't think on the balance of play that we deserved to, but we were beaten and that happens.

"I thought that we were in the ascendency in the first half and we had a number of shots on goal. The goalkeeper has made one particularly great save.

"I thought that we were doing okay. We conceded the goal just before half-time and they came roaring back in the second half."

O'Neill also said he wasn't too happy with the way Villa's recent fixture had worked out but refused to blame it for the loss.

"It has been a very difficult spell for us, three Premiership games on the trot away from home with a rearranged fixture," he added.

"In fact we've had four considering we also played in the Carling Cup as well so it's been particularly difficult.

"But having said this if we had not been beaten here tonight we would at least have taken something out of the game."