Villa slip as Bruce blames big freeze
IF STEVE BRUCE is to avoid Aston villa’s automatic promotion push melting like a snowflake in May, he might want to check the weather next time he hands in a team-sheet.
A shock defeat at Bolton Wanderers left the Midlanders seven points off the top two with eight games to go and time running out before the lottery of the play-offs. But rather than lay into his players after their second defeat in a row, Bruce (right) made an unusual admission about his choice of line-up. ‘If I had seen the snow come down like it was, I might have picked a different team,’ he said.
‘It was a glorious afternoon when we left the hotel but by the time the players came in from the warm-up there was two inches of snow. It was difficult conditions. It wasn’t a night for wingers, they just could not run with the ball.’
villa — who also lost to QPR in midweek — were a pale imitation of the team who blitzed league leaders Wolves 4-1 a week ago and went down to a single goal from ex-Molineux man Adam Le Fondre. Bolton could have been further ahead had Le Fondre finished a simple chance at the start of the second half.
And though Phil Parkinson’s team were indebted to goalkeeper Ben Alnwick for a fine late save from James Bree, villa looked anything but a Premier League team in waiting.
Bruce insists they still have a slim shot at catching Cardiff City. ‘April is a busy month — we’ve lost a couple of matches, but so can others,’ he said. ‘We have made it
hard for ourselves but it is not impossible.
‘As long as we get everyone back OK from international duty, we have to stay positive.’
Championship football next season looks almost guaranteed for Parkinson’s team, who despite not spending a penny in transfer fees for more than three years continue to punch well above their weight.
One of the better-known names in their ranks is Le Fondre, a well-travelled striker who retains one of the top flight’s best-ever goals-to-minute ratios — one every 124 minutes — from his time at Reading.
The 31- year- old won his battle with ex-England skipper John Terry at a canter but only has eyes on firing Wanderers to safety.
‘John Terry is a legend in football but I’m only interested in the fact I scored and Bolton won,’ said the striker, who has made just nine starts for Wanderers this term. ‘I’ve played against plenty of top defenders and it doesn’t bother me. I have said all along that when I start games, I score goals. It’s what I have always been about.
‘I have barely played all season. This was only my second home game since the first game of the season against Leeds.
‘Everyone knows what I am like, I want to play. The gaffer certainly knows it.
‘I want this to be the start of a rich vein of form that keeps us up.’