Bruce hopes his pedigree will get Villa over the line
STEVE Bruce hopes his play-off pedigree will work in Aston Villa’s favour if his team miss out on automatic promotion.
Last Friday night’s 1-0 win over Leeds United clinched a top-six place and although Villa are not quite out of the reckoning for the runners-up spot, Cardiff City’s 2-0 win at Norwich City on Saturday went a long way to closing the door.
The Bluebirds are four points clear of fourth-placed Villa and also have a game in hand, so it looks for all the world like Villa. who travel to Ipswich Town on Saturday, will have to settle for a place in the end-of-season lottery
That prospect doesn’t faze Bruce, who has already bought his ticket having been a winner in the past.
“They’re great games to be involved in,” he said. ““If you can get past the semi-finals, to go to Wembley on a big day out, there’s nothing better.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have done it twice now. Let’s hope it’s third time lucky. Let’s look forward to the challenge.”
Barring a freak sequence of results, Villa will finish inside the top four and boast home advantage in the allimportant semi-final second leg.
It’s still anyone’s guess as to who their opponents would be, with seven teams realistically pushing for fifth and sixth.
Villa face two of those sides – Derby County and Millwall – before the season’s out in what could be dress rehearsals for the play-offs. Some of Villa’s key men, however, are hitting form at just the right time, notably Lewis Grabban and Jack Grealish. Grabban’s fifth goal since joining on loan from Bournemouth in January was the decider against Leeds. It was teed up by the imperious Grealish who, although unable to continue his own scoring streak, was a constant source of creativity. “That’s five for us, and 17 all season from Lewis Grabban – a great return,” Bruce said. “He can play in the wide area, too. “It was important we had his goal threat on the pitch. “I hope Jack has got plenty in the tank. He’s certainly got a spring in his step at the moment.” Grealish is one of a handful of important players Bruce has been shorn of this season because of injury. “Where would we have been if Jack Grealish had been available all season?” Bruce said. “I could say the same about Jonathan Kodjia and John Terry too. “We’ve had to deal with big backs.” Kodjia’s long road to recovery, after he missed five months of the campaign with a persistent ankle injury, took another step forward last week. And the fact he came through unscathed in his first start in seven months pleased Bruce almost as much as the victory itself. “Getting an hour in Kodjia was great,” he said. “And the most important thing, other than the result, because we know how important he could be for us in the next few weeks.” set-