Jamie Redknapp lauds John Terry’s impact at Aston Villa

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John Terry has helped Aston Villa move themselves into automatic-promotion contention in the Championship.

Jamie Redknapp has suggested to the Daily Mail that John Terry has to go down as one of the signings of the season in the Championship as he continues to drive Aston Villa in the promotion race.

Terry surprised many in the summer by deciding to join Steve Bruce’s side following the end of his long association with Chelsea – but he has shown that he is not taking his role at his current club lightly.

After a slow start to the campaign, the Villans find themselves right in the mix to secure an automatic-promotion bid. And Redknapp suggested that Terry’s influence on the team is a key reason for their success.

“Aston Villa invested in Terry, now 37, by taking on his wages and if they get promoted to the Premier League, he will have been worth every penny,” he told the Mail.

“What you don’t see is the influence he has in that dressing room. A bad atmosphere can set in but it only takes one or two lads like JT and that can soon change. Villa are third in the Championship and their new leader can go down as one of the signings of the season.”

It looked as if Bruce’s men may be in danger of crumbling under the pressure as they followed a seven-game winning run by losing to Fulham and then drawing at home to Preston North End earlier in the month.

However, they have seemingly got themselves back on track with a brilliant fightback to come from behind twice to beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-2 at Hillsborough at the weekend.

Bruce’s men go into the final 12 games of the campaign four points behind second place Cardiff City, and they will undoubtedly be looking to call upon all of Terry’s experience to give them the best chance of getting across the line and securing their return to the Premier League.