Watford chief Beppe Sannino admitted the Hornets had gifted Norwich City three Championship points after Joel Ekstrand's early red card.

The Italian refused to single out his Swedish defender until he had studied footage of the third-minute flashpoint which left Nathan Redmond sprawled on the pitch with blood pouring from a facial wound. But Sannino was upset at the compliant nature of Watford's resistance following his exit.

'The decision after a few minutes changes the match for us. It happened very quickly, but the referee made a big and brave decision. For us it was harsh,' he said, speaking through his interpreter. 'I didn't see it at the time. Now with serenity I will watch it and speak with Ekstrand. This match is finished, I am thinking about the next match. I believe that even with one man less that you should play with more anger and be more compact. Norwich played a good match, but we helped them.

'Playing with one man less is difficult. I look at my players and would have liked a bit more aggression. Norwich are a good team and took their chances well. They deserved to win. They moved the ball well but I think a game with 11 versus 11 would be a different match. I don't think we would concede three goals with 11 men on the pitch.'

Sannino urged his players to respond to Watford's first defeat of the new season when they travel to newly-promoted Rotherham tomorrow, with the Millers buoyant from a late league win over Wolves at the weekend.

'I think we can go back to the training ground at Watford and start looking towards the next match. Now we must forget this one situation,' he said. 'We have to be ready for our next situation against Rotherham. In this game we had a big, noisy support from Watford and we have to start working again to make sure we get a win on Tuesday for our fans.'