LEON’S UP 4 IT
Bailey cuts Forest apart and insists Villa are ready for Champions League
ASTON VILLA 4 FOREST 2
LEON BAILEY struck the right note both on and off the pitch as Aston Villa chopped Forest to pieces.
The Jamaica international delivered his best show of the campaign and then claimed Villa are looking up rather than down the Premier League table.
Bailey, 26, has committed his future to the Birmingham club by signing a new four-year deal earlier this month.
And he is convinced it’s a case of ‘when’ and not ‘if ’ Villa return to Champions League football under boss Unai Emery.
There are a dozen games to go and a five-point gap has been established over nearest rivals Tottenham.
Ange Postecoglou’s team visit in little under two weeks in a clash that could go a long way towards establishing who might finish in fourth. Or better.
When quizzed, Bailey didn’t even know Manchester United had fallen further behind and his reaction was predictable.
“We’re looking up, definitely,” he said. “Now is a crucial moment and a time when you have to be at your best.
“We will try not to give up easy points. We have it in the back of our heads because teams are right behind us – but there are teams we can catch as well.
“I didn’t know about the gap over Spurs – that’s a great situation for us to be in.
“We went through a little phase a few weeks ago. It’s difficult. This is the Premier League.
“It’s about overcoming these challenges quickly. The last two games for us have been really good and should give us a lot of confidence for the games coming up.”
Bailey’s revival since Emery (above) arrived at Villa Park has been little short of staggering.
Given licence to cause chaos – as he did down Villa’s right – he is proving a handful to anyone he comes across.
But the winger claims this is not his best season.
The former Bayer Leverkusen forward added: “I wouldn’t say it’s my best season because I’ve had more goal and assist contributions when I was in the Bundesliga.
“But I am trying to make this one of the best seasons of my career. I want more goals and assists.
“Most importantly, we want to reach our target for the end of the season. We want to be in the Champions League and that is a goal for me as well.
“That’s why I signed. This is an amazing club. We have a good coach and the team has been doing great. I feel good and decided to stay because I believe in this club and what our goals are for the next few years. I just want to be here to be a part of it and hopefully bring Aston Villa back to where we know it can be.”
One of the few negatives during the victory over Nuno Espirito Santo’s brittle Forest team was an injury to Pau Torres.
Supporters’ message boards have delivered the ultimate compliment to the £38million defender – comparing his importance to that of club legend Paul McGrath.
That is overstating the case, but Villa looked wobbly after the stopper went off with what is, as yet, an undefined soft tissue problem.
He underwent scans over the weekend but manager Emery’s words suggested no long-term issue.
The Villa boss said: “He had a small pain. Hopefully, he’s not injured. We decided not to take the risk.
“He was feeling progressively worse with it – but not feeling injured.”
ASTON VILLA (4-4-1-1): Martinez 6; Cash 6, Lenglet 6, Torres 6 (Chambers 46, 6), Moreno 5 (Digne 58, 6); Luiz 8, McGinn 7, Tielemans 6 (Zaniolo 81), Ramsey 6; Bailey 9 (Diaby 90), Watkins 7 (Rogers 90).
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-2-3-1): Sels 6; Williams 7, Felipe 5 (Omobamidele 46, 6), Murillo 5 (Toffolo 46, 6), Niakhate 5; Danilo 6, Dominguez 5 (Yates 73); Hudson-Odoi 5, Gibbs-White 6 (Ryena 81), Elanga 5; Awoniyi 5 (Origi 46, 6).