Yesterday was Hasane Kamara’s 40th appearance for Watford, and it also marked his second red card of this season and third overall in that time.

Throw in nine yellow cards as well, and the current Player of the Season's discipline is seriously blotting his copybook in terms of his achievements for the club.

Head coach Slaven Bilic was unambiguous in his condemnation of the 38th-minute two-handed shove that led to Kamara being shown a straight red by referee Mr Smith – a second instant dismissal of the season which will now mean a four-game suspension rather than the usual three.

Kamara will miss the trips to Swansea, Norwich and Reading (in the FA Cup) and the home game with Blackpool.

“The sending off decision was fair. It was a reckless act. The thing that Kamara did you just cannot do,” said Bilic.

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“Their player tripped him, but instead of going down himself and maybe their player gets booked he does the worst thing you can imagine.

“I saw what he did. Yes he was provoked, but you get provoked all the time in football.

“I told him at half-time that what he did was unacceptable. Things like that happen on the pitch, but if you react in that way then your chances of winning the game drop like crazy.

“With 10 men in the second half we tried our best, but it is always difficult against 11 men.”

Putting aside the red card, Bilic did feel his side didn’t get the rub of the green from the match officials – and for the second game in succession, an apparent foul on striker Keinan Davis inside the box did not earn a penalty.

“Of course, when I am watching the game I am not objective – I’m the Watford manager – but that looked like a penalty to me,” said Bilic.

“Their boy was nowhere near the ball, he tripped him or got his leg between Keinan’s legs. For me that’s a penalty and a key moment in the game.

“We hadn’t started great but it was 0-0 and those moments are key in a game and can change everything.

“If you score, even when you are not playing well, then it can give you confidence and you start to play the way you wanted to play from the beginning.

“Key decisions absolutely went against us and I said to the players that was the case, but I also told them we have to hold our hands up and say we were nowhere near what we wanted to be and nowhere what we have showed recently in games and on the training ground.”

Bilic also said he had spoken to referee Mr Smith before kick-off and asked him how he would handle the physical approach Millwall adopt – and subsequently felt the referee should have awarded his side a free-kick in the passage of play that led to Millwall’s first goal.

“I had a word with the referee before the game about a few things and how he would treat their physicality.

“I said to the referee before the game that I don’t mind physical challenges at all, but if you are a centre back and the striker doesn’t even watch the ball and pushes you, then as a centre back who is watching the ball the push you receive is not a challenge for the ball.

“The centre forward doesn’t have to kill you. In that instance, that shove is a foul.

“That is exactly what happened for their first goal, that is what Bradshaw did. If you are not challenging for the ball and you are not even looking at where the ball is, then if you go into the defender and make contact then that is a foul.

“That challenge in the first goal is, for me, always a foul. Football is a contact sport of course, but that sort of challenge is something I really don’t understand.”