Paul Lambert has defended his stance on the FA Cup after his Aston Villa side suffered a shock third round exit to Sheffield United.
Villa fell to a 2-1 defeat against the League One outfit at Villa Park, with goals from Jamie Murphy and Ryan Flynn either side of a Nicklas Helenius strike adding to Lambert's recent problems.
In the build-up to the tie with the Blades, Lambert claimed that the competition has increasingly become a "distraction", but he maintained that he was not intending to be disrespectful.
"I never demeaned the competition one bit," he said.
"I respect its history and I respect what the competition is about.
"If you look at my own career, I've won some nice things through cup competitions. The context of the whole interview (was missed). I was not decrying the competition at all."
Despite his views on the tournament, Lambert made just three changes from the New Year's Day 1-0 win at Sunderland, and admitted his frustration at crashing out of the cup.
"I am bitterly disappointed, especially after a really good win on Wednesday," he said.
"I picked a really strong side to try to get through."
Speaking of the home fans who booed his side off the pitch, Lambert added: "The fans pay their money to come to watch and that is part of the game.
"It is up to us to give them something to be happy about and today we have not done that. Everybody knows I am not the happiest person when we lose."
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