Tim Sherwood acknowledges that he must quickly get over his disappointment of seeing Aston Villa fall to a sixth successive league defeat in his opening game in charge.

Tim Sherwood has admitted that Aston Villa's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Stoke City has left him feeling "devastated", with his side still stuck inside the Premier League relegation zone.

The former Tottenham Hotspur manager's spell in charge of the Villans got off to a dream start when Scott Sinclair made the breakthrough with 20 minutes played in the West Midlands, although goals at the end of either half from Mame Biram Diouf and Victor Moses helped condemn the hosts to another disappointing reverse.

Villa have now lost six games on the bounce in the top flight and, following Burnley's surprise 1-1 draw at Chelsea, Sherwood's men now find themselves second from bottom.

"I'm devastated, no-one feels as down as I am," the 46-year-old is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "I can be devastated now but I won't be on Monday. We need to move on, games come thick and fast and if you are dwelling on the last game then they start to run out.

"It's not all rosy in the garden here and no-one thought it was going to be easy but it was a cruel way to lose the game. I thought neither side deserved to win.

"It wasn't great and it's going to be a work in progress, a lot of work needs to be done. I was encouraged with some performances, Scott Sinclair was very good, I just think we need to work on it. It's about putting the right jigsaw together to win the games."

Next up for Villa is a trip to face Newcastle United next weekend.