"I think he's given it for a shirt pull and it was probably the right decision, but I don't think it warranted a sending-off in fairness," Hughes said after the game.
"From that point on we were trying to get back into the game at 2-0 down but they got a couple of breakaways, both of which I had my doubts about because I thought they might be offside.
"But it was just one of those nights we've got to draw a line under and move on.
"We know Villa aren't four goals better than us and so do they. This is not going to dent our confidence.
"We are not going to beat ourselves up about it. 4-0 looks bad in black and white but confidence won't be dented because of this.
"We played well enough but circumstances conspired against us."