TOO MUCH BLOOD

Bruce admits gamble on new boys did not pay off

STEVE BRUCE concedes he was wrong to blood so many of Aston Villa’s January signings at the same time – yet has vowed they will come good.

After an initial bounce under Bruce (above) following his arrival in October, Villa have not won this year. He carried out major surgery on his squad last month, bringing in eight players and shipping out five.

Six of those recruits – Sam Johnstone, Neil Taylor, Henri Lansbury, Conor Hourihane, Birkir Bjarnason and Scott Hogan – started in Monday’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle (above). It left Villa 22 points adrift of the play-offs heading into today’s clash with Derby.

Boss Bruce said: “I took a calculated gamble to throw them all in as I thought it might give us a huge lift. In hindsight – and you’re always learning – it was probably wrong.

“We should not be putting in five or six but that’s what I thought would give us a spark. It hasn’t worked.

“I have to let the players who have come in have time. They have only been here three weeks, some only two.

“We can’t judge players on a month. They need time, they need to get settled in the area and get their families here and get into a routine.

“There were six of them in this morning at 8.10 – all the ones who are in hotels.

“They can’t wait to get out of the gaff – no disrespect to the hotel. That’s the way it is. I’m convinced they will be good players for the club in the long run.”

Struggling Bruce has been assured his job is safe by Villa chief executive Keith Wyness. He said: “There is absolutely no question, we are sticking with Steve.”