The experienced right-back enjoys something of a mixed relationship with the club’s supporters.
At the start of the season, you would not have found too many Aston Villa fans clamouring for Alan Hutton to be given an extended stay in the Midlands.
After all, this was a player who had already been excluded from the first-team picture throughout the whole of the 2013/14 season, demoted to Paul Lambert’s ‘Bomb Squad’, and featured heavily in the pitiful campaign that culminated in this famous old club’s long-expected relegation.
Furthermore, his form this season has been typically patchy at best and, coupled with the addition of 19-year-old James Bree from Barnsley, it seemed as if Hutton would be phased out until his contract finally expired in the summer.
Nonetheless, could it be his character rather than his quality that hands him at lifeline under Steve Bruce? The 32-year-old’s positional sense and defensive nous may be questioned on occasion but his character and commitment cannot be.
Through every surging run and crunching tackle, he warms the hearts of even the most critical supporter and, in an era where players’ work ethic is being questioned more than ever, particularly at Villa following half a decade of decline, Hutton remains a cult hero among some sections of the fan base for his sheer passion alone.
And Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Derby County was Hutton at his best. Scrapping, harrying and always trying, the right-back played a crucial role in Villa’s long-awaited first win of 2017.
A new contract will only divide the supporters but Bruce will know better than anyone that Villa need players willing to give everything for the cause.
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