Aston Villa are currently sitting two places and seven points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.
Aston Villa legend Nigel Spink sat down for an exclusive interview with the Express & Star, and explained why it will be better for his former club to have their hopes of automatic promotion dashed sooner rather than later this season.
The Villans currently sit in fourth position in the Championship table, seven points adrift of second placed Cardiff City, although they have played a game more than Neil Warnock’s men.
Steve Bruce’s side lost back-to-back games last week, and their hopes of finishing inside the top two were dashed in the process.
Villa can still mathematically earn automatic promotion, however, as unlikely as it may seem.
Spink, who made 361 league appearances for the west Midlands outfit, explained why he believes his former club will be better off knowing that they will end up in the play-off spots, rather than clinging on to the prospect of automatic promotion, only to be left disappointed at the final hurdle, as quoted by the Express & Star:
“Steve will still believe they can do it until it is no longer mathematically possible. But if it is to be the play-offs, in a way it would be better to find out sooner rather than later. I always feel it is difficult for teams who get close and miss out on the final game to refocus.”
Villa return to action with a trip to Hull City on March 31st, before they play host to Reading three days later, and nothing less than a return of six points from those matches will do, if they are to have any chance whatsoever of finishing inside the top two this season.
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