If Villa don’t Wes up they will go down

THERE are a lot of feelgood factors around Aston Villa at the moment.

Christian Purslow, the chief executive, talks the talk; the manager Dean Smith, a Villa fan, is on a longterm contract; Jack Grealish is playing so well he’s on England’s radar; and John McGinn is a target for Manchester United.

But I’m struggling to comprehend why so few people are talking about them as relegation candidates in the same way as the clubs below them.

Villa would have been in the bottom three had Southampton picked up something against Newcastle, and a relegation battle is very much the reality.

If they are going to stay up then Smith and John Terry must pull centre-forward Wesley (above) to one side and say, ‘If we are going to believe in you, then you need to do the basics well, which is playing with your back to goal’.

But I don’t see any evidence of coaching in terms of that.

I’ve said from day one that I’d go in for free, and I’m sure Emile Heskey or John Carew would as well, and show Wesley how to play that way, because at the minute he’s a liability.

If they are not going to do that then they need to take him out of the team and buy a striker in January.

I WOULDN’T be at all surprised if Watford don’t go on some sort of run under Nigel Pearson because he is exactly what they need.

A cold shower of a manager, if you like, and a good appointment.

THAT goal from Heung-Min Son against Burnley on Saturday was what you go to football for.

‘Sonny’ (below) plays with a smile on his face and he, like Dele Alli, will benefit from Jose Mourinho putting an arm round him and putting his faith in him.

Spurs fans have been a bit down after recent events, but a clean sheet and five goals, including a wonder effort in their 60,000-seater stadium, will go some way to perpetuating the myth of Mourinho becoming The

‘Spurs-ial One’ at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

I WAS one of the voices calling for Mauricio Pochettino to walk straight through the door at Manchester United after his sacking by Tottenham.

But the fact is United have had two very good results against Spurs and Manchester City. And the way they have played to win both games shows the sort of growth that, providing they keep going that way, should mean Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job is safe until the end of the season.

United have shown genuine progress — in those first 30 minutes on Saturday they blew City away and, in a derby, that shows a lot of character from a young team.