Tony Cottee doesn’t think Aston Villa have a chance of winning automatic promotion.
Tony Cottee
Pundit Tony Cottee told Sky Sports’ Soccer Special on Wednesday evening that he doesn’t think Aston Villa win automatic promotion this season.
Villa drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest on Sunday, meaning they had thrown away yet another lead as they pursue promotion from the Championship this season.
Aston Villa Manager Roberto Di Matteo celebrates after Jonathan Kodjia scores
Roberto Di Matteo’s side then took on Brentford on Wednesday night, and looked to be heading towards a victory as new signing Jonathan Kodjia smashed his first goal for the club.
However, Villa again fell apart late on as John Egan snatched a late equaliser for Brentford, meaning Villa still have just one league win to their name so far this season.
The pressure is already mounting on manager Di Matteo, as whilst there have been some signs of progress under the Italian, Villa continue to throw away points in the early stages of the season.
Aston Villa’s Mile Jedinak looks dejected
After the game on Wednesday night, pundit Tony Cottee spoke about Villa’s performance against Brentford to Sky Sports’ Soccer Special – and it’s fair to say he wasn’t impressed at all.
The former West Ham and Everton striker suggested that Villa are struggling because they are having trouble with teams upping their game at Villa Park, but also slammed Di Matteo’s men for barely even trying to get a second goal after half time.
Cottee also predicted that Villa won’t win automatic promotion this season, but added that anything less than a play-off place simply isn’t good enough this season.
Brentford’s John Egan (R) scores
“I think that teams like Brentford enjoy going to Villa Park, and they’ve got to come to terms with that,” said Cottee. “They didn’t push forward, they didn’t have any energy in the second half, they didn’t look like getting that second killer goal. In the end, you’d probably say that Brentford just about deserved it, but what a poor result for Villa.”
“Not as in getting promotion to the Premier League, but I think they’ll push on,” he predicted when asked whether Villa can turn things around. “They should be in the play-offs, anything less than the play-offs is not good enough for Villa.”
What did you think of Villa’s performance against Brentford?
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