The 46-year-old Italian is reportedly facing the sack if his side fail to beat Preston North End on Saturday, but among the positives to take from their recent games have been the impressive performances of Tshibola.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Preston North End, Aston Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo has revealed his delight at Aaron Tshibola’s recent performances.
Tshibola, 21, started three of Villa’s opening four matches of the season after joining the club from Championship counterparts Reading this past summer for around £5 million, but he subsequently spent a month on the sidelines after suffering a groin injury in the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town.
The physical midfielder made his first-team comeback as a half-time substitute in last Saturday’s home game against Newcastle United, however, and capped off an eye-opening performance by netting his first senior goal in the 88th-minute to salvage a 1-1 draw for the hosts.
His impressive display saw him re-claim a spot in the starting line-up for Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw at Barnsley, where he again made a positive impression, and Di Matteo is now backing the former England Under-18 international to establish himself as a key member of his side going forward.
“Every game he plays he’ll get better,” the Villa boss told reporters at his press conference when asked about Tshibola’s recent impact. “Finding his position, playing with his team mates and he has qualities that he can put in service to the team.
“But there’s also some room for improvement for him to become better. He’s certainly a player that can help us to become a better team.”
Villa had been leading 1-0 against Barnsley at the time Tshibola was substituted for Ashley Westwood with 15 minutes remaining, but another late collapse saw Sam Winnall bag a late-winner equaliser to leave them sitting 17th in the table with just 10 points from 10 games.
Di Matteo’s side have now dropped 11 points from winning positions this season, recording only one victory and a league-leading seven draws in the process, and various reports over the past week have suggested that he could he facing the sack if his team fail to beat 19th-placed Preston at Deepdale [h/t Guardian].
The former Champions League-winning boss is confident he has the backing of owner Tony Xia, though, and insists that the spirit within the squad is good going into this weekend’s game.
“First of all, I must say we were all disappointed with the [Barnsley] result,” Di Matteo added at his press conference. “Now focusing on the games back, we do a lot of good things – for long periods too. We just need to extend it for 95 minutes.
“We need to focus and manage the game better for longer, kill off the game before – because on Tuesday we had the opportunities to get the second goal.
“The spirit within the group is good. It’s a united team,” he continued. “You can see it in the reaction of the players on the bench – when we score – and also the ones that are playing. They want to do well.
“They are trying everything to be successful. They are confident we will get to the end of the season in a good position.
“I am under pressure to deliver results – and the team is under pressure to deliver results. Everybody in the club is in full support of the team, myself, the management team – because we all want the same.
“I don’t feel under pressure from my chairman or the club at all – I feel the pressure of delivering results – that’s the pressure I feel and the players feel.”
Di Matteo will be without Leandro Bacuna for Saturday’s game after the Dutch utility man earned a one-match suspension for picking up his fifth booking of the season at Barnsley, meaning either Alan Hutton or Micah Richards will likely be asked to step into the starting right-back spot.
Libor Kozak has also been ruled out of the match with an undisclosed injury, but the Czech striker was unlikely to feature on the weekend anyway with Ross McCormack, Jonathan Kodjia, Jordan Ayew, Jack Grealish, Albert Adomah and Rudy Gestede all providing fierce competition for places.
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