Dwight Yorke slams Aston Villa’s mentality & talks Ollie Watkins’ future
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Speaking to Ladbrokes Fanzone, Dwight Yorke slammed Aston Villa’s mentality, whilst also questioning Unai Emery, and spoke about the future of Ollie Watkins.
- “Sunday’s defeat was huge, quite simply. It’s huge. You’re almost putting fourth place to bed if you beat Tottenham, or at very least you’re putting a major foot in the door.“
- “Unai Emery has been phenomenal in turning Villa around… but I wondered if I questioned him a little bit this weekend, from a tactical point of view, and how he went about that game.”
- “That’s the difference at Aston Villa. I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way, but the Villa mentality over the years is that finishing fourth and finishing fifth is a good season for them. But they need to step out of that.”
- “Let’s not settle for fourth or fifth; let’s secure fourth. That should be the mentality, that should be the mindset. Keep pushing.“
- “Well, 16 goals is a reasonable return for Ollie Watkins so far this season, but when you want to be at the top, you need to be hitting at least 20 goals a season, consistently. I know there’s still a long way to go this season, but to really attract the big clubs, you’ve got to be hitting the 20-mark as a minimum.“
- “He’s got to show, between now and the end of the season, why the big boys want him. He’s got to get Villa into the top four, with his goals and his performances, in my opinion. I don’t think he’s far away, and if he scores 20-plus goals and has a good Euros, that will trigger the big clubs to make a move for him.“
Sunday’s defeat was huge… we could’ve almost put fourth pace to bed
Sunday’s defeat was huge, quite simply. It’s huge. You’re almost putting fourth place to bed if you beat Tottenham, or at very least you’re putting a major foot in the door. You’ve got the home advantage, Tottenham are the ones chasing you… it’s a great opportunity.
Yes, there was a midweek game and they only had three days to recover and prepare. But these are young men, and the kind of lifestyle footballers are living these days, and the recovery techniques these guys have… you know, playing at home in front of a packed out and passionate crowd at Villa Park, knowing the importance of the fixture, you need the big players to step up, and they didn’t.
I questioned Emery’s tactical approach at the weekend… it’s not rocket science
Managers get criticised all the time and it’s very much part of the game. Unai Emery has been phenomenal in turning Villa around, not just in terms of positionally in the table, but the way we play now, and how much things have progressed under him. You can’t really fault him on the whole.
But I wondered if I questioned him a little bit this weekend, from a tactical point of view, and how he went about that game. You know, out of possession, we went into a defensive five. I just think you’re giving the onus away when you do that, especially at home. You’ve got to go at Tottenham. You’ve got a good reason to do so; the onus is on you, particularly at home. Tottenham came and had a go at us, but it should have been the other way around.
The players looked leggy. You know, Leon Bailey, he looked heavy, Ollie Watkins looked a little bit tired. It was a lacklustre performance, and John McGinn just lost it in the end. I think he just thought ‘what is this about? We’re supposed to be fired up.’ You’ve got to play Tottenham on the front foot at home; I just thought he was a little bit safe, defensively, which gave the onus to Tottenham massively. You’ve got two teams on display who play high, so there’s so much space in behind. It’s not rocket science, and these guys know that.
Villa mentality needs to change, and fast…
And that’s the difference at Aston Villa. I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way, but the Villa mentality over the years is that finishing fourth and finishing fifth is a good season for them. But they need to step out of that. I’m sure the manager, with his experience, is trying to take them to another level now.
If Villa were to finish fifth now, they would say ;wow, that’s an amazing season’, just because of their current mentality. But the manager needs to kick that out of them, because this is a big club and there was a great opportunity there to pull further away from Tottenham.
I really hope they finish in the top four, because I don’t want the club, the fans or the players to be thinking about this other route into the Champions League, through where the current English teams finish in the competition, and all of that. I don’t like that mindset.That’s my fear for Villa at the moment.
Aston Villa have got to be careful; that’s all I’m saying. There’s a huge difference in finishing fourth of fifth, because finishing fifth means you’re relying on other things to go in your favour. Fourth is there for the taking, and they’ve had a really good season up to this point; they’ve done well to turn things around again as I thought they looked like they were nosediving at one point. But let’s not settle for fourth or fifth; let’s secure fourth. That should be the mentality, that should be the mindset. Keep pushing.
It looked like the Thursday game took a lot out of them, but if they want to be playing in the Champions League, they’ve got to get used to that, because that’s what it’s like. You play Saturday or Sunday and you play on Tuesday or Wednesday… you’ve got to get your head around it very quickly.
The next few months are key to Watkins’ future
Well, 16 goals is a reasonable return for Ollie Watkins so far this season, but when you want to be at the top, you need to be hitting at least 20 goals a season, consistently. I know there’s still a long way to go this season, but to really attract the big clubs, you’ve got to be hitting the 20-mark as a minimum.
I think teams will be watching Watkins, though, and I think the Euros will be his defining moment, if he gets into the squad and has a strong campaign for England, then I can see the big boys will push to get him. But at the moment, he’s just on the borderline, in my opinion.
He’s got to show, between now and the end of the season, why the big boys want him. He’s got to get Villa into the top four, with his goals and his performances, in my opinion. I don’t think he’s far away, and if he scores 20-plus goals and has a good Euros, that will trigger the big clubs to make a move for him.
