Aston Villa are currently in the midst of a woeful run of form.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
Speaking live on Sky Sports’ Premier League Daily show at 11:22 am on Monday February 20th, former Villa star George Boateng offered his opinion on his former club’s current struggles, and highlighted a reason why he believes they have been massively underperforming of late.
Steve Bruce’s men currently sit in 17th position in the Championship table, a full 22 points adrift of sixth placed Sheffield Wednesday and, worrying, just six points clear of the relegation zone.
The Villans head to the North East tonight to take on Rafa Benitez’ in-form Newcastle United, and the Villa fans will be heading to St James’ Park with a sense of trepidation, rather than optimism.
And Boateng, who made 135 appearances for Villa during a three year spell with the Midlands club, was harshly critical of Bruce’s squad of players, suggesting that they lack the mentality to play for such a big club, when speaking to Sky Sports:
“People look at Villa, and even though they are in the Championship, they are a massive club, and sometimes the players have to be able to wear the shirt. When you play at Villa Park in front of the Holte End, it’s not easy, and wearing the shirt brings a lot of pressure. Some of the players who are there can’t deal with it.”
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
Despite making an initial impact when he arrived at the club in October, Bruce has struggled to improve his side as a whole, and they have not won a Championship game since Boxing Day.
The arrival of eight new faces in January has so far failed to help arrest their alarming slide, and something will have to give sooner rather than later, with Villa being dragged deeper into relegation trouble with every week that passes.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
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