Aston Villa signing disappoints legend – though Steve Bruce is looking to rectify transfer mistakes

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The Villa squad appeared to lack any galvanising influence against Cardiff.

Former Aston Villa goalkeeper Nigel Spink has told the Birmingham Mail that Steve Bruce’s squad is lacking leaders – which may explain a few of his reported January targets.

Villa fell to a disappointing 1-0 loss at Cardiff City last time out to ensure they remain mired in mid-table ahead of a potentially crucial transfer period that has been tipped to make or break their season.

And Spink is in no doubt as to where Villa need to strengthen, claiming that the current crop lacks the motivational ability to galvanise the team and carry them through difficult moments.

This is despite the arrival of experienced Championship veterans in the summer, including Mile Jedinak and Tommy Elphick who both wore the armband with pride at Crystal Palace and Bournemouth respectively.

“Leaders aren’t what they used to be in a football team,” the long-serving goalkeeper, who represented Villa between 1977 and 1996, told the Birmingham Mail.

“You used to have a captain on the park who would orchestrate everything, you don’t get that anymore.

“I thought Tommy Elphick was going to be the answer at Villa, I really did. People I know in Bournemouth were delighted he was getting a good club to play at. It hasn’t worked out and Steve hasn’t played him.

“There should be seven leaders in a team anyway.”

Bruce was left fuming at Villa’s timid performance at the Cardiff City Stadium, demanding his players “man up” or face being shipped out as the Midlands giants aim to escape the most demanding of leagues, per the Birmingham Mail.

Therefore, it surely can’t be a coincidence that two of the most influential midfielders in the second tier, Nottingham Forest’s Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane of Barnsley, have been heavily linked with Villa in recent days, the same publication reports.

The dynamic duo captain their current sides and, with Villa looking light on guidance and motivation when they fall behind in games, Bruce clearly wants players who can, to spout a trademark cliché, grab the game by the scruff of the neck.