Simon Jordan has claimed that Tyrone Mings is a ‘flat-track bully’ at Aston Villa after he lost the club’s captaincy to John McGinn.
The former Crystal Palace owner did praise Tyrone Mings for how he reacted to Steven Gerrard’s ruthless call, but made it clear that, if Aston Villa are to go to the next level, then the centre-back is not the answer.
Aston Villa will begin their Premier League campaign on Saturday when they travel to the south coast to take on newly-promoted, Bournemouth.
Last season, Mings was a certain starter under Dean Smith and even when Gerrard replaced the boyhood Villa fan in the dugout.
But all of that now changes because summer signing, Diego Carlos, might start instead, as Jordan shared his blunt views on Mings, as he told talkSPORT.
“I think his response to having the captaincy taken away from him is commendable,” said Jordan. “I don’t think for Aston Villa to get to the next level, Tyrone Mings is the answer. If he is the answer, then I am not sure what the question is.
“The bottom line is that I haven’t been a great admirer of him as a player. I think he is a decent player. To play in the Premier League, you have to be to a certain standard.
“It mustn’t be lost in translation that he clearly is a player that plays at a certain standard. When he has been elevated to the England level, and asked questions of at Aston Villa, then I think he has been a bit of a flat-track bully.
“Some of the players that were able to cope with that, then were able to make him look a bit pedestrian as a centre-half, so I think that’s beginning to see itself in perhaps the future of his position at Aston Villa.”
DOES TYRONE MINGS HAVE A FUTURE AT ASTON VILLA?
This is Mings’ biggest test since being in Villa colours and it’s crucial he reacts to this by getting off the floor, or else it will be the start of the end for him at the club.
More than likely, it will be the summer signing Carlos who starts against Bournemouth possibly alongside Ezri Konsa or January capture, Calum Chambers.
But there will be a time when Mings is given a chance again and that’s when he needs to put in the performance to remind everyone he is still here.
If that happens, then it only bodes well for Villa because it creates competition and if Gerrard has depth in quality, then the chances of securing Europe increase tenfold.
But it’s McGinn’s time to shine with the armband now and the Scotsman is someone who is perhaps the biggest fan favourite at the club right now.
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