Providing an update on manager Roy Hodgson, who was absent from Villa Park with illness, McCarthy said: “He’s feeling better, so we’re all hopeful that he’ll continue to feel better and will be back with us sooner than later.”
On whether this affected the team's preparations, McCarthy said: “All the preparation was done with Roy, it was in between breakfast and the pre-match meal that he felt a bit unwell. That’s when we found out about it, and we just had to continue as we’d prepared.”
McCarthy then assessed the team’s performance: "I felt, in the first-half performance, there were lots of good bits in that. We didn’t create as much as we did in the second-half, but we nullified Aston Villa’s attacking threat for the majority of the half and frustrated them and looked lively going the other way.
“In the second-half we adjusted a few bits. The players went out and executed the plan well, so to concede a goal in the 87th minute and concede a second goal in controversial circumstances later on was disappointing. We can’t be too down because there were lots of positives to take from the performance.”