Aston Villa beat Reading 2-1 in Championship action yesterday.
Steve Bruce has told Aston Villa’s official website that the one thing he asked from his team against Reading last night was that they put in maximum effort.
Bruce kept his team talk short ahead of Villa’s match against Reading, but he demanded that his side gave their all in the contest.
And the 55-year-old was delighted with what he saw from his side, as they picked up their first away win in 14 months.
“It’s pretty obvious, to play for me you have to show fight – or else you don’t play,” he said. “They got that message loud and clear.
“I asked for one thing – I made it through sheer determination. It’s amazing what the supporters can forgive as long as they see hard work. They can forgive a defeat if their team plays with heart. It was good to see at the end. They had a good go.”
Villa’s victory against Reading came in dramatic circumstances, with the claret and blues leaving it until the last minute to win the match.
Villa had taken the lead when Jonathan Kodjia scored in the first-half, but they were pegged back by Yann Kermogant.
At that stage it looked like Villa’s long wait for a victory was set to continue, but Jordan Ayew netted a last minute penalty to spark wild celebrations in the away end.
Villa are now in 17th spot in the Championship table, with their next match coming against Fulham at the weekend.
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