Steve Bruce: Losing does not hurt Aston Villa enough

Saturday’s 3-0 defeat in Villa’s first away league fixture of the campaign was described by Bruce as “on the edge of embarrassing” and one of his worst-ever results in the Championship.

The Villa boss had hoped the arrival of seasoned campaigners like John Terry and Glenn Whelen would eradicate the fragility which saw his team win just four games on their travels last season.

Yet while the chastening defeat in Wales was proof there remains much work to be done, Bruce believes the problem remains a mental one which cannot be solved by simply buying more players.

Asked if he would now seek to further strengthen the squad in the wake of Saturday’s performance, Bruce responded: “I haven’t got millions to spend. The club has spent millions in the past. That is not the answer when you get beat.

“We have to change the culture. We get beat and it doesn’t mean enough. We have to change that culture and turn it around.

“There’s glimpses but there’s still a long way to go, especially away from home,

“When you analyse it we aren’t good enough and we haven’t got what it takes. It’s difficult to take. The basics simply aren’t there.”

A brace from Wolves academy product Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and a Junior Hoilett header condemned Villa to a convincing defeat.

Bruce’s men will get a chance to quickly get back on track when they head to Reading, last season’s beaten play-off finalists, tomorrow night.

Bruce added: “We have to go to work again and perform to a level far better than we did in Cardiff.

“There were far too many who were bang average and below average. They looked so fragile.

“A team of mine shouldn’t be like that. They can get beat but it’s the manner in which they get beat.

“Since I’ve been here, it’s happened too many times. That’s why I got the experience in but even they couldn’t give us that determination that we need.”