'˜I did not offend anyone' - Owls boss Carlos Carvalhal stays upbeat despite being sent to the stands

Carvalhal was forced to watch the second half from the stand after an incident following Vincent Sasso’s red card and 10-man Wednesday suffered defeat as a result of two goals from Villa striker Jonathan Kodjia, who took his tally for the season to 15.

The Wednesday manager said: “I spoke to the referee. I did not offend anyone. I didn’t complain. I was sent off because I was out of the technical area.

“During the whole game, I do not talk about any situations and I did not open my mouth to the fourth official. The emotions were high with the sending-off but at no time was I using any bad words. I wasn’t critical of any decisions.

“My situation is not important. I was more worried about the red card for my player. It made a big difference to the game.

“We came to win and we had chances to win. We attempted to make an impact but with 10 players we were restricted.

“We were all the time solid and compact but the story of the game was that we didn’t take our chances.”

Despite only one win in Wednesday’s last five games, Carvalhal is upbeat.

He said: “I am still optimistic. You have to be with a side that recently beat Norwich 5-1.”

Villa manager Steve Bruce was very close to the Sasso incident and admitted the sending-off was “a game-changer.”

But he said: “These days if you go off the ground with your studs showing we all know what the outcome will be.

“I think the referee got it right. As the rules are today he was spot on.”

Bruce admitted Villa were indebted to the scoring flair of Kodjia for their fourth win in five games. “Kodjia can be frustrating but his goals are incredible.

“He came up with another two goals against Wednesday. That makes 15 for the season and he has been a big plus for us.”

There is, however, little doubt that Villa have relied far too heavily upon Kodjia throughout their indifferent season.

The Ivory Coast striker has the happy knack of being in the right place at the right time, as he emphasised when he gave Villa a 35th-minute lead with a super header from an accurate cross by Conor Hourihane.

Wednesday strived for the equaliser but being a man short left them exposed and Kodjia exploited the situation with a comparatively simple second goal in the 68th minute.

Bruce admitted: “I have to get a team here at Villa to mount a challenge. A club like Villa has got to be in the top end of this division.

“We will forgive mistakes with the honesty coming through. But we have to take our chances better. It cost us against Huddersfield in midweek and it could have cost us here.”

Aston Villa: Johnstone, Bree, Chester, Baker (Hutton 25), Neil Taylor, Jedinak, Hourihane, Adomah (Elphick 82), Gardner, Amavi, Kodjia (Davis 86). Unused substitutes: Richards, Bunn, Corey Taylor, O’Hare.

Sheffield Wednesday: Westwood, Hunt, Sasso, Loovens (Semedo 75), Fox, Wallace, Jones, Bannan, Reach, Rhodes, Winnall (Fletcher 73). Unused substitutes: Wildsmith, Palmer, Pudil, Buckley, Nuhiu.

Referee: L Probert (Wiltshire).