Steven Gerrard said his side suffered a "really bad day" at St James' Park as Newcastle United put daylight between themselves and the bottom three of the Premier League.
The Magpies are now just six points behind Villa in the Premier League table and are suddenly looking up the table rather than over their shoulder.
Speaking after the game, Gerrard said in the post-match Press conference: "A really bad day for us.
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"I was surprised with the performance that we gave.
"There were no signs of that, certainly in the preparation.
"Look, collectively we need to improve. We've got a lot of work to do.
"We didn't deserve anything out of the game given the level of performance that we give.
"That's clear to me and some changes in the team need to happen as well."
And reflecting on Newcastle's performance, Gerrard said: "I don't think Newcastle had to play ever so well to beat us.
"That's a big frustration as well.
"Obviously, the goal we conceded is poor from our point of view and our set-plays, for and against, were poor today so, listen, in a lot of ways we were way off it.
"The easy way out for me is to say things are going to take time. We want to see improvements now.
"There has been a lot of positives and excitement and good performances along the way so far.
"But, today, the frustrating thing is there were no signs of them steps in the right direction. We were poor in a lot of areas which is a concern."
When asked if Villa were out of the woods in terms of relegation fears, Gerrard said: "We've got to be careful that we don't get dragged down.
"We've got to have a purpose for every single game.
"Today, when we started, the players didn't show any urgency until half-time.
"We never showed what we're about until half-time.
"We've got a lot of work to do in a short space of time.
"The players know they were nowhere near it today. The staff know it. Collectively, we all need to improve."
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