Former Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton has claimed that he was surprised by how harshly manager Dean Smith criticised his players after their defeat to Southampton, per Football Insider.
What’s he said?
Smith did not hold back after Villa were beaten 2-0 at St Mary’s.
He claimed that he was left feeling “embarrassment” after the defeat, while saying that some players had “played their way out of” the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City this weekend.
Villa, of course, are in a relegation dogfight at the bottom of the league but sit 17th, one point clear of West Ham United.
And Hutton, who played for the club between 2011 and 2019, was shocked by the bluntness of Smith’s statements.
He said: “I’ve never, never once heard him (like that).
“Even in training, he wouldn’t ever question the players like that. It shows you how frustrated he was. It was a massive game for Villa and to be honest they were poor.
“It’s a difficult one, he’s come out and questioned the players, whether they had an eye on the final or what kind of went wrong, he was obviously upset with the performance.
“You understand, it’s an emotional game, emotions were running at a high level.”
Did he really play for us?! No Villa fan has managed to name all of these obscure Villans….
Nailed it
Hutton has got this spot on.
Villa are in very real danger of falling straight back into the Championship after last season’s promotion and, while they are currently one point clear of trouble, it is a precipitous position.
There is every chance that a poor run could see them drop into trouble and their next five league games are against Leicester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Wolves, and Liverpool. Four of those clubs are fighting for European qualification while the Magpies are seven points clear of trouble.
Their clash with Southampton, then, was something of an opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and the Hammers.
It cannot be surprising, then, that Smith was so frustrated by the result.
Meanwhile, Villa fans have been left underwhelmed by this transfer link!