Just a bump in the road, says Watkins
VILLA sharpshooter Ollie Watkins says Sunday’s home humiliation at the hands of fellow Champions League hopefuls Tottenham does not define their season.
All eyes were on Villa Park as fourth hosted fifth, with Unai Emery’s side edging the first half before being blown away by swashbuckling Spurs after the break.
James Maddison and Brennan Johnson goals were followed by Villa skipper John McGinn receiving a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Destiny Udogie.
There was no coming back from that sending-off, with Heung-min Son and substitute Timo Werner completing a 4-0 hammering in stoppage time.
“Really disappointing,” said Watkins. “First half, I felt we had a few opportunities on the break. They didn’t cause us too many problems; I think they had one corner.
“Second half, we’ve come out a little bit slow. They scored two goals really quickly and it’s very difficult against a good side to come back from 2-0. With our captain getting sent off as well, it was difficult.”
The result saw Spurs cut the gap to fourth-placed Villa to two points on a day when they had the chance to extend it to eight points.
Watkins’ disappointment was clear but there will be no wallowing in self-pity after what he believed was just a bump in the road.
“This game doesn’t define us, or define our season,’’ he continued. “We’ve done unbelievable to get where we are, really proud of all the boys, we’ve still got a lot of football to play. So, this game doesn’t define our season.”
Villa return to action against Ajax in the Europa Conference League last-16 second leg on Thursday before travelling to West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.
They will start that match in fifth place if Spurs win at Fulham on Saturday evening, with Ange Postecoglou’s improving outfit also boasting a game in hand.