Standing on the shoulders of giants
KONSA ADVISED BY TERRY AND INSPIRED BY LEGEND MCGRATH
EZRI KONSA is walking in the footsteps of legends in his bid to become a great defender in his own right.
The Londoner has former England skipper John Terry – manager Dean Smith’s assistant – to tap into at Aston Villa’s training ground. PREVIEW V PREVIEW ?PM
But he has also been watching hours of foBotyag1e0opftaBcylulibnegreat who played his final game of competitive football for Villa a few months before Konsa was born in 1997 – Paul McGrath.
McGrath’s name is held in such reverence it still booms around the ground when fans sing it to the tune of ‘Kumbaya My Lord’.
Konsa cannot believe how easy the former Republic of Ireland centre-half made it look and hopes some of it can rub off.
“Having a legend like JT to work alongside was one of the biggest reasons for me coming to the club,” said the 23-year-old.
“With his help, I haveve improved massively and he’s been a big part of my development.
“I knew about Paul McGrath when I first came here.
“When he was playing in the old days he would always put his body on the line when he was defending. When I GUIDING LIGHTS: Terry and McGrath took the No.4 shirt I knew it was a number he had worn. He’s someone I’ve watched a lot. He just seemed to make things look so easy.”
Konsa is also indebted to elder brother Antonio for steering him on a path that might easily have taken a different turn. “He’s had my back for a long time,” the defender said. “He tried to instill things in me that were important, especially because of the area I came from – it was rough.
“If it wasn’t for my brother and my family I’m not sure how it could have worked out because Newham was an area that had a lot of crime. “For a lot of kids I knew, things didn’t turn out as well as they have for me.
“I am lucky. I am very blessed and I appreciate that. It was my dream to play in the Premier League week-in-week-out.”