Aston Villa legend Andy Townsend has fired a stark warning to his old club’s players and made a bizarre comparison.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce gestures to their fans
Steve Bruce’s side won for the first time since Boxing Day when they beat Derby 1-0 at the weekend and then followed that up by beating Bristol City 2-0 on Tuesday night.
The club is sitting in 15th place in the Championship table after another miserable season.
The Villains had gone 10 games without a win to heap pressure on new boss Bruce.
Now Townsend, who won the League Cup in 1994 and 1996 during a successful four-year spell at Villa Park, has fired a warning to the club’s players about appreciating their time there in an interview on talkSPORT.
“I liken Aston Villa to oil tanker, honestly,” Townsend told talkSPORT Drive.
“They’re a big rusty, horrible old oil tanker at the minute that’s heading in the wrong direction and someone says ‘Oi you need to turn around mate’.
“And you can’t just do it, you can’t just turn around and get going in the other direction, it’s going to take ages, it’s going to take a long time.
Andy Townsend
“It’s an amazing football club, it’s dear to my heart, I do believe they have absolutely the right manager in charge.
“Playing for Villa when things aren’t going well is not easy believe me. The fans are unbelievable when they’re behind you but they’re a demanding bunch.
“It’s great that they’re still getting 30,000 there it really is and it is a proper club Villa, a proper, proper club it really is.
“But I hope the current group of players understand and realise the quality of the football club they’re playing for.”
Aston Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia celebrates after scoring their first goal against Bristol City
Villa will be hoping back-to-back wins is the start of turning the oil tanker around.
But Championship survival is likely to be the best they can hope for this season given the big gap to the play-off places.
Next up is a trip to basement side Rotherham, a game which offers Bruce a real chance of building up a head of steam with three wins in a week.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
