Mings can become stuff of legends, says Stan
SPORT
STAN Collymore has backed Tyrone Mings to go on to become an Aston Villa legend following his first England call-up.
Villa secured the permanent signing of Mings in the summer in a bigmoney deal from Bournemouth after he had played a significant role in their promotion back to the Premier League last season.
The towering central defender has played in each of Villa’s opening four games at the beginning of this campaign and, although they have been defeated in three of them, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate and assistant Steve Holland have seen enough from Mings to merit selection.
The former Ipswich defender is now at St George’s Park with the rest of the England squad as they prepare for the forthcoming Euro 2020 qualifying games against Bulgaria on Saturday and Kosovo next Tuesday.
Pundit Collymore, who played for, and is a fan of, Villa, has expressed his delight for Mings and is backing him to join the pantheon of claret and blue greats.
“It’s fantastic. I first noticed Tyrone when he was a left-back at Ipswich Town,” he said. “He could play on the left side of central defence and at leftback. He’s always had the athletic attributes and he’s always been an aggressive defender.
“I think he’s found a home at Villa. He had a very nasty injury at Bournemouth when he was their record signing, so to come back from that and to go through that adversity, join a big club like Aston Villa and help them get back to the Premier League has rebooted him.
“It’s refilled his confidence. I think he’ll go on to become a Villa legend. As the club I support, we have offered the second-most of England internationals after Tottenham. I hope he can have a fantastic season, stay injuryfree and, with the Euros next year, hopefully get in the squad.
“He’s top quality, make no bones about it. He’s a great athlete, he’s a very good footballer and is positionally very aware.”
Meanwhile, James Chester is set to return to Villa training during the international break, head coach Dean Smith has revealed.
Chester is yet to feature in a competitive match this term after sustaining a hamstring injury at Shrewsbury in pre-season.
“It has been a frustrating one with his hamstring injury but I am hoping he will be back in training during the international break,” said Smith.
Mings and Bjorn Engels have established themselves as Villa’s firstchoice partnership in the middle of defence in Chester’s absence.
“Frustration.” That’s the word which keeps popping up following Villa’s controversial defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend.
The VAR was unable to award Villa’s last-gasp leveller as the whistle had already been blown, while officials at Stockley Park decided the ref
had not made a clear and obvious error.
But Villa midfielder John McGinn felt the video footage spoke for itself.
“There’s not a lot we are allowed to say,” he said. “We are extremely disappointed, we’ve watched replay back.
“We are instructed to play to the whistle and then the technology that we are lucky to have in 2019 reviews it. But it doesn’t seem to have b e en w o r ki n g properly o r
the something. We’ve had a goal that should have counted but we need to try and take it on the chin.”
Villa had to battle with only ten men for the majority of the second half after Trezeguet was dismissed.
“Any Premier League game is tough and you go down to ten men it makes it even tougher, the attitude, the work rate we put in was different class and I think we did deserve a point,’’ said McGinn. “To create as good a chance as that at the end and to have it taken away is tough to take. But we can take heart from the performance and the chances we created.”
When asked how the dressing room had reacted, McGinn could sum it up in only one word.
“That seems to be the word that keeps popping up – frustration,’’ he added.