Steve Bruce takes responsibility for Aston Villa draw

Villa sadly lacked real fire despite sending on Scott Hogan and Gabby Agbonlahor in the second half in an effort to inject some life into a stuttering attack.

It was fortunate for Villa that goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was in brilliant form in the second half, with two last-ditch saves from substitute Josh Clarke and Oliver Watkins as Brentford strived for their first win of the season.

Bruce admitted: “I was conscious of the fact, and I do not want to make excuses, that practically the whole team team have been away on international duty.

“The three youngsters who have been away with England had to come off with injuries. In hindsight I blame myself because the young players who have given us the spark have been away for 11 days.

“With my experience I should have done better. I take a bit of responsibility because there was no real freshness. As a result we were as flat as we could be.

“I can readily understand the frustration of the fans as this was arguably the worst we have been since I’ve been here at Villa in the last nine months. We didn’t have any spark, we didn’t do enough with or without the ball. We looked jaded and I take responsibility for that. I should have known better after having 90 per cent of the team away on international duty.”

Villa have taken just six points from their first six games, with pressure increasing significantly on Bruce. After the match, owner Dr Tony Xia took to Twitter to vent his anger, posting three emojis – a sad face, an embarrassed face and an angry face.

Brentford’s former Saddlers boss Dean Smith claimed: “It was a good point but we should have collected three points.

“We controlled the football and in the second half created three big chances. Unfortunately Sam Johnstone, who I had (on loan) at Walsall, kept us at bay.”