Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has given his thoughts on the Bees’ 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, as well as the decisions that went against his side at Gtech Community Stadium. 

After going ahead in the first half, a red card to Ben Mee and the referee deciding not to give a penalty for a nudge in the back of Neal Maupay inside the penalty area were verdicts from the officials that didn’t go the hosts' way in west London. 

“I’m proud of the players' performance, effort, mentality and work rate - we were fantastic in many ways,” said Frank. 

“It's a little bit frustrating when we're standing here after and we didn't get anything out of it.  

“Today, there were a few situations that didn't go our way. That makes it more difficult to take or accept, but that part of football. It is what it is; we need to live with that. 

“There were two situations for me: one was the penalty for Neal Maupay, I think it's a clear penalty, which will make it 2-0.  

“And then there's the red card to Ben Mee and, for me, it's not a red card.   

“We need the consistency. We need to help the VAR system to be better, and there is only one way that can happen, and that is to learn from mistakes and to develop. I still believe in that.” 

Aston Villa's visit to Gtech Community Stadium was Brentford's final game before Christmas and, while being disappointed with the defeat, Frank made it clear that he wanted to move past Sunday’s result and focus on the festivities over the coming weeks. 

He stated: "It’s football. It's very important, but there are much more important things in life.

"Of course, we need to be together with our families at Christmas - that is a very important thing.  

“So we will take that on, learn from it, have this 24 hours, and then we go again.”