Graham Potter believes Aaron Mooy had no need to say anything after his costly red card.

The Aussie midfielder blew a huge hole in his side’s hopes of a first ever win at Aston Villa with his 35th-minute departure.

Potter recognised Albion may well have gone on to take the points had they kept 11 men on the pitch.

But the head coach added: “He doesn’t have to say anything.

“We are trying to get through the game and sort out the rest of the players.

“It’s part of the game. Players make decisions and make mistakes and it’s how it is.

“We have to stay together and respond together and I thought we did.”

Mooy apologised on Instagram yesterday and a piece was later published on the club's official website in which he explained what happened with both yellows.

He said: “I’m really annoyed with myself and sorry as I feel I’ve let my teammates and the fans down.

“The first yellow was just an instinct. The ball wasn’t where the foul took place and I rolled it back to the position of the foul.

“For the second, I genuinely felt I could make the tackle, realised I couldn’t and tried to pull out, but it was too late.”

Potter said he had seen worse offences than those committed by Mooy but stopped short of offering a strong defence.

He said: “I’ve never been one to complain about referees. It is what it is.

“They have got a tough job so it is not for me to add more pressure on them.

“The second one, I am looking from behind.

“The first one, I can see why it was given but, when I looked at instinctively, I thought he was just trying to put the ball back to where the original offence took place.

“When he kicks it away, you can understand the referee giving that decision.

“I think you will probably see worse sendings-off but, if it is, it is.”

Mooy will miss the visit of Everton to the Amex this Saturday as he serves a one-match ban.

Seagulls fans have enjoyed just four league wins in ten months since the Toffees were last at the Amex to round off fixtures for 2018.

That is not all down to the current set-up and playing staff, of course.

But it is a record they have had chances to improve and this was one of them.

Potter was asked whether it was concerning, worrying and disappointing that his side have failed to take points their displays have deserved this season.

He replied: “Now, it’s all those things but you can’t control the football result.

“If it was as simple as that, then we probably wouldn’t like the game so much.

“We have to carry on with what we are doing, which is the performance level and how we are trying to play.

“We have to stick together and I am sure you will get consistency.”

Potter said Albion strove to put that lack of wins right at Villa, even when pegged back to 1-1 and playing with ten against 11 in the second half.

He told The Argus: “We played through, we had some chances, we were at their back four quite often, chances in the box.

“It wasn’t a ten-man performance, bearing in mind we were ten men for 60 minutes “It wasn’t a ten-man performance in terms of being camped on the edge of our own box and not taking part in the game.

“We took part in the game. In the end, because of the pressure of the home team, it can drive you back.

“But, when we had the ball, I thought we had some opportunities.

“Maybe it was just that akst little bit. Monty (Martin Montoya) had a really good chance.

“You have to ride your luck, of course, because you are at Aston Villa and we have got ten men and there is pressure.

“Jack Grealish was very good. Congratulations to Aston Villa, they won the game.

“But congratulations to my players and how we went about it. I thought we were fantastic.”

Speaking in the main press conference, Potter was asked by a Birmingham reporter what he impressed him about Grealish.

The answer turned the question on its head and did not provide the lengthy praise of Grealish which was probably being looked for.

Potter said: “I thought he popped up in lots of places. He makes things happen with his own quality.

“He’s a good footballer.

“But I thought we caused Aston Villa probably more problems than Jack Grealish caused us problems, if I’m being honest.

“Still, with a player of his quality, you know something can happen.

“He gets them moving and he is a talent.”

Potter was asked how his players would respond to the Villa defeat.

He replied: “It’s the Premier League. You are going to get days like these.

“You are going to get kicks and things go against you.

“The important thing is to maintain the bigger picture of how we play, the performance levels, and we will do that.

“The lads are distraught. They put such a lot into it and don’t get any reward but that’s life, that can happen.

“We focus on how we react.

“I thought how we reacted in the game was really good, how we conducted ourselves was really good.

“Then we will move forward with that.”