Aston Villa's hopes of making a run at the top six took a massive blow as they were cast to one side with ease by Wigan Athletic.

The Latics made light work of a Villa side which never got going at the DW, and the 3-0 scoreline was more than deserved in the end.

For Villa though, it was very much a case of getting back to the drawing board, and following the game manager Dean Smith moved to put to bed rumours that there was anything unusual about the decision to not play one of his star strikers in Jonathan Kodjia.

The big striker has been one of the key men for the Villans this term but his absence left a lot of Villa fans wondering whether something untoward was going on with the forward, especially with the January window in full flow and Tammy Abraham deciding to stay put.

Smith's explanation will hopefully go some way to appeasing the Villa fans who were worried about the striker's omission.

The game in general though was not a good one at all for Dean Smith's men, and the former Brentford manager will be keen to put this performance behind him and his team and move on into the next Championship fixture.

The Verdict

Smith had to move to quell any rumours really, and he's done the right thing in bringing out the truth.

Kodjia is going to be key though, and Villa fans will be hoping his injury is not something too serious as the second half of the campaign continues.