Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has called on his teammates to do one thing following the Villans’ disappointing 3-3 draw with Brentford.
It was a frustrating afternoon for Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon, as Unai Emery’s side failed to secure a win over Brentford.
The Villans were hopeful of bouncing back after their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City earlier in the week, where the manager opted to make six changes to his regular starting XI to rotate.
Emery’s decision was assumed to be to ensure that his squad were fired up and ready to claim three points against Brentford however, his side was far from convincing.
Despite holding a 2-0 lead shortly into the second half, Ollie Watkins’ and Morgan Rogers’ goals were scribbled out by the Bees, who in a nine-minute frenzy, turned the fixture on its head to lead 3-2.
Watkins was Villa’s saviour again 10 minutes from time, scoring his 18th goal of the season to ensure his side took a point from the game, although, the striker was far from happy with the result.
What Ollie Watkins wants Aston Villa to change after Brentford result
Branded as “brave” by BBC Match of the Day pundit Dion Dublin for his comments after the draw, Watkins expressed his frustration at his side’s inability to secure the win after taking the lead.
As well as speaking strongly after the game over the squad’s lack of “big team mentality”, the Villa talisman has also called upon his teammates to make one significant change to their presentation as a squad.
In comments relayed by Express and Star, Watkins admitted that Emery’s squad must become a “horrible team” to face in the run-in.
“As a team, we’ve come so far from when the manager joined – 17th in the league to fighting for Champions League football. Which is unbelievable, but we’ve got here for a reason and that’s being strong, seeing games out and we didn’t do that here.”
“It’s happened to us a few times over the season now, Man Utd away on Boxing Day, 2-0 up cruising, came out second half lackadaisical – all over the pitch, I’m not saying anyone specifically, me myself.”
“We’ve just got to be more consistent and be that horrible team to play against when we’re ahead 2-0.”
Ollie Watkins’ desire for change at Aston Villa is understandable
While Villa’s growth this season in particular has been remarkable, it doesn’t excuse careless mistakes that see points be dropped at crucial points of the season.
The Villans’ draw saw them overtaken by Spurs in the race for the top four, a frustrating shift in the table considering that the three points were firmly in the host’s hands at one point against Brentford.
Aston Villa’s last five Premier League games:
- Points earned: 5
- Goals scored: 7
- Goals conceded: 12
Watkins’ comments are equitable, particularly as the run-in begins to heat up and the club prepare to battle in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, Villa do need to be more feared by the opposition.
Having recorded only one win in their previous five Premier League games, it will be hoped that Villa can bounce back with a bang, as Emery’s next challenge in the league comes against his former club at the Emirates.
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