Boss Bruce is refusing to admit defeat in the race for the top two but neither is he taking a play-off place for granted, after a run which has seen his team take just one point from the three games since their 4-1 hammering of leaders Wolves on March 10.

Villa are now nine points adrift of second-placed Cardiff and have slipped to fourth in the table, behind Fulham.

Asked if he was now focusing on the play-offs, Bruce said: “I don’t take that for granted either.

“There’s still a bit of work to be done. We’re not in there just yet.

“We need to give our heads a wobble and win a few more games.

“We need to repeat the performance that we showed against Wolves because we haven’t got near those heights physically and mentally.

“That’s the disappointing thing for me because the last three games we haven’t been there.”

With Bruce having made four changes from the team beaten 1-0 at Brighton prior to the international break, Villa made a bright start at the KCOM Stadium.

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But they were unable to find the breakthrough during the first half and then fell away after the break, with the hosts ending the game looking the most likely winners.

Bruce said: “I was pleased with us in the first-half. We had the two best opportunities and we needed to score.

“The disappointment was the second-half, we never really got started.

“The longer it went, the worse we were. We never got a hold of the game in the second half.

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“It’s one of those frustrating evenings.

“I’m disappointed because we haven’t done enough in the second half.

“If we’re going to be brutally honest with each other, we have to have a bit more than we had in the second half at this stage of the season, that’s for sure.”

Villa have an eight-point cushion over seventh position but Bruce has not given up hope of catching Cardiff.

He continued: “We can never say never but we’ve had a bad few weeks. To pick up one point out of three games isn’t what we need.

“As I’ve said repeatedly from day one, it’s our own accumulation of points.

“There’s a target there for us all to get to.

“Now, after what we’ve done, we need to win six of the next seven to give ourselves a chance.

“We’re capable of doing it but it’s going to be difficult.”