HENRY INHERITS DEFENSIVE NIGHTMARE

THIERRY HENRY has a task on his hands. What is even more important is that he is given time by Aston Villa to navigate through it. The former Arsenal striker is set to take charge at Villa over the international break and has been told he is expected to win promotion to the Premier League ‘sooner rather than later’. Villa’s reality is different to their reputation, and even to last season’s play-off final place. It was clear at the Den. Villa have a group of players at a collective low ebb. This was the first time Millwall have earned three points since August. ‘There is nothing wrong with the players because most of them are internationals, they must be good players,’ said Villa caretaker Kevin MacDonald after the game. True, there is Tammy Abraham, who scored yesterday, a £30million winger in Yannick Bolasie, Jack Grealish, coveted by Tottenham in the summer. The problem towards the end of Steve Bruce’s time was knitting it all together. What Henry also lacks is a defender in the mould of his likely assistant, John Terry, who yesterday announced his retirement from playing. With James Chester out, Villa had to resort to Alan Hutton at centre half. It is not a surprise they conceded two goals from set-pieces, scored by Shane Ferguson and Tom Elliott. ‘People are saying we are in a crisis but if we hadn’t conceded so many silly goals we could be running away with it,’ said MacDonald. ‘But we’re not and that’s what is frustrating people.’ More importantly though, the owners need patience, especially with a novice duo in Henry and Terry. They have to be given a chance. If Villa expect to rocket up the league, they are setting themselves up for failure.