Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
YEARS OF HURT
The Hend is in sight of Villa’s trophy drought as Jordan says Emery’s men have great chance of lifting Conference
League over hikes they fear will price out loyal local fans and replace them with “tourists”.
But Aussie Postecoglou (above) put himself on a potential collision course with some supporters by launching a passionate defence of far-flung fans.
He said: “That’s really harsh and I’ll tell you why. Because I’m probably plastic and touristy!
“If I could get access to see a Premier League game, that was the world to me. So to label people ‘plastic’ or ‘tourists’ I don’t think that’s fair.
“This football club has supporters all over the world. I have friends in Australia who did buy season tickets and could only get here a couple of times a year, that’s how passionate they are.
“As long as your overall objective is to grow your football club then you will find the balance you need.”
With defender Micky van de Ven (above, left) still out injured, January signing Radu Dragusin (above) will get his first start.
JORDAN HENDERSON says Unai Emery stands “a great chance” of ending Aston Villa’s trophy drought.
The England star emerged after a tough night in which his Ajax side was dumped out of the Europa Conference League following a fourgoal drubbing to pay tribute to the work being undertaken at Villa Park.
Henderson (below) battled gamely throughout the two legs, but the scale of the job he has taken on was laid bare as the erstwhile Dutch masters were taught a lesson.
Villa have not won any domestic or European honour since 1996 when they defeated Leeds in the League Cup (above, celebrating).
And Henderson believes this could be their year.
He said: “I’m a really big fan of the manager.
“He’s done an amazing job since he’s come into the club. You can see the rise that the team and club have had. They’ve got a great chance of going on to win this competition. Fantastic club, great players. I think there’s some success coming, for sure.
“They got it spot-on against us. They’re an experienced team with a very experienced manager who knows how to win in Europe.
“They were the better team against us and deserved to go through.
“I still felt a bit of hope at 1-0 but we lacked their game management and once we conceded the second and had a man sent off, it was always going to be hard.” Henderson also pinpointed the club’s leading scorer Ollie Watkins as the man who can spearhead Villa’s glory charge.
He was substituted after scoring the opening goal. It looked at first as though he had jarred a knee – sparking fears that he might be set for a spell on the sidelines. However, it appears that it was a cut. He will be patched up ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s trip to West Ham. Henderson said: “Ollie is an amazing player. His running behind, strong link play, finishing – he’s got everything for a centre-forward.
“You can see the threat he possesses, even in the air. Hopefully, his injury’s not too bad and he can feature for England. Villa are a very good side.”
Emery will have to make changes to his line-up as skipper John Mcginn is suspended for the trip to the capital following his dismissal for violent conduct last week during the home defeat by Tottenham.
He has warned that his players need to build the mindset that playing tough matches every three or four days needs to be the norm if standards are to be raised.
He said: “We have to be ready. We have lots of players making their debut in Europe this year – but they’re also now playing with their national team – players like Watkins and Ezri Konsa.
“They have to be ready to play more than one match a week. This is the way.
“West Ham are in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. They expect something from the match. It’s hard but we must recover, focus and be ready.”