Aston Villa held their own, for the most part, against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday.
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce spoke to reporters in the aftermath of his side’s 2-0 defeat to Spurs in the third round of the FA Cup yesterday, and explained what particularly disappointed him about his side’s display, as quoted by BBC Sport.
The Villans were very compact for the most part, and made things difficult for the hosts, but two goals in the last 20 minutes put paid to any chance of the visitors progressing through to the fourth round of the competition.
And Bruce told reporters what disappointed him about conceding the opening goal yesterday, but highlighted how he wants his side to aspire to play in the manner in which Spurs do, as quoted by BBC Sport:
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
“I was a touch disappointed with the goal because they didn’t have to do much – one cross into the box and we didn’t deal with it. They are a very good side and that has to be the aspiration for us at Aston Villa.”
The one major positive for Bruce’s men is that they now have solely the Championship to focus on.
They currently sit in 12th position in the table, seven points adrift of sixth placed Sheffield Wednesday, and they have reached the point now where they have to string together a sustained run of victories, if they are to force themselves inside the play-off spots.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
The main problem for Villa is not the points deficit, but the amount of teams between them and the play-off positions.
And Bruce will be hoping that his side take confidence from the fact that they were able to compete with one of the best teams in the Premier League for nearly the entirety of the game yesterday.
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