TERRY’S ALL GOLD FOR MINGS
Villa defender is learning from Chelsea legend as he targets play-off success
It was the last day of the regular Championship season and tyrone Mings was trying to drive away from Villa Park. a group of fans surrounded his car, blocking his exit. aston Villa had just lost to Norwich and Mings hadn’t played.
Except, instead of anger, there was jubilation. Mings was smiling, and so were the supporters. Villa were in the play-offs and the player was in the best form of his life. He listened as his chant started. ‘ Mings can only get better.’ the D:Ream track that once did wonders for New Labour has been appropriated by Villa, as optimism flourishes.
since arriving on loan from Bournemouth, Mings has been close to immaculate, both in defending Villa’s goal with all his 6ft 5in frame and providing a silky presence in possession.
He has helped reignite promotion ambitions that once seemed doomed — a crucial figure in a record 10 successive wins — and revived his own career.
after making 16 starts in three and a half years under Eddie Howe, Mings has made 17 starts in four months for Dean smith.
He has cult status at Villa and it will be enhanced if his side win at wembley. ‘I have made no secret of the fact I am really enjoying playing for these fans,’ says Mings. ‘I needed to come out of Bournemouth if I wasn’t going to get an opportunity there to show people what I could do.
‘Being unable to play for so long isn’t where you want to be as a footballer. Your career is only going to go one way. I am in a great place mentally and physically at the moment.’
Mings is finally showing the pedigree he first promised when breaking through at Ipswich, which convinced Bournemouth to pay £8million for him as a 22-year-old in June 2015.
a torn knee ligament kept him out for the entirety of his debut season, then a back problem in september 2017 caused issues for much longer than scheduled.
‘I had a seven-week back injury at Bournemouth and was out for seven months, read into that what you want,’ he says. ‘I am not an injury-prone person. I have never pulled a muscle. My knee has never given me another problem, my back has never given me another problem.’
Mings admits to frustration at not cementing his place in Bournemouth’s team and his future will be on the agenda this summer. Villa would love to sign him permanently if promoted and the feeling seems mutual. smith played an integral role in signing Mings in January ahead of west Brom and Nottingham Forest.
But there was another big draw. ‘well, obviously John terry is a centre back who a lot of people would put in their all-time Premier League XI,’ says Mings.
‘I knew he was part of the coaching staff here. I’d spoken to him before he was even at Villa. when there was a chance I could uld learn from someone en like that, in my position, it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.
‘ we sit down after my games and go through clips and work k out on the training g pitch together, so he’s played a big role in helping me improve mprove my positioning and decision-making.
‘any little tips or hints he can give me on what he would have done, or what previous managers would havhave taught him, are obviously invaluable. ‘His overriding comment to me is, “Go through the game without being seen”. He tells me that a lot.
‘as much as you want to improve the team, as a centre back your job is to go under the radar and keep the ball out of the net. Let the strikers get all the adulation and headlines.’
Mings has attracted column inches, though. On his Villa debut he unintentionally caught Nelson Oliveira in the face with his studs, apologising profusely and calling for immediate assistance.
It called to mind the five-match ban he served when the Fa ruled he stamped on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another accident that, in his own words at the time, altered a public perception of him as ‘the Mother teresa of football’.
the stories Mings first became known for were refreshingly positive. Early on at Ipswich he gave match tickets to a fan who posted on twitter that he could not afford to go.
then it emerged he spent Christmas Day feeding suffolk’s homeless. since then he has spoken on racism, mental health, and his youth, which was, in part, spent in a homeless shelter alongside his mum and three sisters.
‘I am very careful on what I speak about. I could be a lot more vocal about my opinions,’ he insists. ‘But I think if there is something to say and you are in a position where you can influence in a positive way then you should.’
Mings was once a mortgage adviser, despite not having a mortgage himself, and jokes: ‘I had to pretend I knew what I was doing more than I did.’
His talks now, on the pitch, are authentic. He believes giving ‘everything’ is a prerequisite. ‘If you do that as a player, the fans really get behind you,’ he says. ‘I’ve supported teams and often when fans get frustrated, they feel you’re not working hard.’
smith’s side will need to bring energy to beat Derby on Monday in what could prove a slidingdoors moment. Next season the squad will look very different if Villa stay in the Championship.
Jack Grealish, who Mings calls the ‘catalyst’ at Villa, would be expected to go, for instance.
But promotion could lead to a rebirth for the club. Mings says: ‘I don’t know too much about the ins and outs of the financial situation, but it will be a great day if we go up and it will be a terrible day if we don’t.’