Villa’s Fergie is perfect for Snodgrass

‘HE GETS the club, he gets us and I bloody love him,’ said one slightly worse-for-wear Aston Villa supporter as he boarded a train after this pulsating clash at the top of the Championship. He wasn’t talking about manager Steve Bruce or even local lad Jack Grealish, who also impressed here. No, the player he couldn’t stop raving about was Robert Snodgrass — and for good reason. On the day Villa moved back up to third in the Championship with their 10th win in 12 games, Snodgrass, on loan from West Ham, took the lead for the number of league assists this season. Although his total increased by only one to 12 — a free-kick that James Chester volleyed in, which put Villa 2-1 up after 57 minutes — he was key in Bruce’s plan to exploit Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who left gaps in wide areas and struggled to defend set-pieces. Snodgrass’s outswinging delivery from a corner led to Villa’s first goal. Mile Jedinak met the Scot’s dipping ball ahead of Alfred N’Diaye to set up Albert Adomah who finished at the near post. Wolves equalised through Diogo Jota but Villa, again through Snodgrass, were nearly in front at the break. John Terry helped his free-kick back across goal but Chester couldn’t finish. Chester made no mistake when another free-kick from Snodgrass (right) landed in the six-yard area and he converted. Snodgrass had no involvement in the third or fourth goals, scored by Lewis Grabban and Birkir Bjarnason, but his overall display earned praise from Bruce. ‘That’s why I signed him,’ he said. This is the second time Bruce has had the 30-year-old as a player. The pair were together for two years at Hull — a period that saw promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs in 2016. Snodgrass can see similarities to Hull’s rise, with Bruce holding everything together. ‘The lads want to run through a brick wall for him,’ said Snodgrass. ‘He’s got the traits of Sir Alex Ferguson where he gets the best out of players. The lads love him and respect him and he gives you a bit of licence. The one thing he wants is that you work hard for your team. He trusts you.’ Villa have the highest average attendance in the second tier and 37,836 watched Saturday’s win. ‘It’s a Premier League club,’ added Snodgrass. ‘It’s massive.’