Fast-starting Bruce may be Villa’s saviour – Saunders
VILLA hero Dean Saunders believes the immediate impact Steve Bruce had after succeeding Roberto Di Matteo could be what saves them from back-toback relegations.
Bruce took 24 points from his first 12 Championship fixtures to reignite hopes of a play-off push – but momentum has changed drastically in recent weeks.
Villa haven’t won since beating Burton 2-1 on Boxing Day and have lost their last five league matches in a row.
And Saunders believes his former employers would be in a serious mess had Bruce not hit the ground running.
The Welshman said: “It’s a good job he had a good start. If he hadn’t got the points he did in the first seven games, they would be in massive trouble right now.”
Despite a difficult run of results, Saunders is backing Bruce to get Villa out of trouble with a few gritty performances.
“They’ve got enough there,” he insisted. “The manager is really experienced and he’ll know how to get some one-nils when they need it. They need to win about three or four games just to get away from the bottom three.”
Saunders’ sentiments were echoed by Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez, who has backed Villa to turn around their form, despite watching his team comfortably brush them aside.
An opening strike by Yoan Gouffran and an own goal from Henri Lansbury set the Toon Army on their way to a 2-0 win on Monday night.
They have matched their expectations by taking the league by storm this season while Villa have struggled and languish nervously in 17th place.
Benitez said: “I am convinced, they are a very good team. They have good players, they can pass, run, hold the ball and beat players one-on-one.
“Maybe now they don’t have confidence because football is a state of mind.”
He continued: “When you play two games a week, they are very physical.
“It’s difficult in the Championship so you have to have players with the right experience.
“I think we are doing well. At the beginning we lose two games but we react.
“They (Villa) have quality and experience. They will do it.”