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    Bruce with work to do at Villa Park

    Bruce with work to do at Villa Park

    It wasn’t perfect by any means but with Steve Bruce in charge, Aston Villa managed to work their way out of the Championship relegation zone this weekend, in a sign of better things to come for the club.

    Bruce arrived at Villa Park to replace Roberto di Matteo, who took charge of just 12 games, before losing his job.  With Aston Villa sitting 19th in the Championship table, with just a single victory to their name, it was little surprise to see the Italian given his marching orders.  It now falls upon Bruce, who guided Hull City to the Premier League, despite leaving the club in the summer, to return Aston Villa to their former glory.

    Aston Villa were in the top flight of English football for 28 years, before being relegated last season, with just 17 points from their 28 games.  Since Tim Sherwood was hired in February 2015, Villa have had six different managers, including Bruce, whether they be temporary or permanent.  A situation like that, is never going to be good for the club and Villa fans will be hoping for a more stable future, with Bruce at the helm.

    One of the first things Bruce needs to address, is the fitness of some of the players, which was clear during his first match in charge, against Wolverhampton Wanderers.  Villa took the lead after 15 minutes, thanks to a penalty by Jonathan Kodjia, which came because of a foul on Jack Grealish.  However, with Wolves dominating the ball, they soon found an equaliser, which also come courtesy of the penalty spot, thanks to Helder Costa.  As the game wore on, Villa’s players were becoming tired and it was a real ‘backs to the wall’ performance late on, with Wolves pushing for a winning goal.

    Villa, thanks to several saves and blocks in their own penalty area, held on for the point and Bruce was happy with that aspect of their play.  However, he was far from satisfied with the way in which his players tired during the 90 minutes and this is something the former Birmingham City boss, must address and quickly.  The Championship season is a long and gruelling campaign and if the group of players are unfit and unable to last 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon in October, imagine what they are going to be like come the Christmas period.

    Villa have won 4 matches from the last 55 played, which is a dreadful run of form and Bruce knows he is in for a bumpy ride, as he attempts to steer Villa away from the Championship relegation zone.  The point against Wolves was a decent start but there is plenty of work to do, especially in terms of player conditioning.  Bruce has also spoken about the big expectation which comes with playing for Aston Villa and how it may be weighing down on some of the players.

    If Aston Villa are to survive in the Championship, the level of intensity on the pitch needs to increase and that can only happen when players are in peak physical condition.  Once the players can give everything, without tiring quickly, Bruce can work on bringing the best out of them, in what is currently a challenging environment.  One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be a rollercoaster ride at Villa Park this season.

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    Featured match

    RuC
    2

    Regular Season

    OVERALL TABLE
    OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
    1
    		 Swansea City 23 10 7 2 1 9
    2
    		 Middlesbrough 21 10 6 3 1 6
    3
    		 Birmingham City 17 10 4 5 1 6
    4
    		 West Bromwich 17 10 5 2 3 2
    5
    		 West Ham 16 9 4 4 1 11
    6
    		 Stoke City 16 10 5 1 4 1
    7
    		 Blackburn Rovers 15 10 4 3 3 2
    8
    		 QPR 14 9 3 5 1 3
    9
    		 Wolverhampton 14 9 4 2 3 2
    10
    		 Millwall 14 10 4 2 4 0
    11
    		 Bristol City 14 10 4 2 4 -2
    12
    		 Charlton Athletic 14 10 3 5 2 -3
    13
    		 Southampton 13 9 5 2 2 10
    14
    		 Bolton Wanderers 13 10 4 1 5 -3
    15
    		 Sheffield United 12 9 3 3 3 1
    16
    		 Wrexham FC 11 10 2 5 3 -4
    17
    		 Lincoln City 11 9 3 2 4 -4
    18
    		 Cardiff City 10 10 2 4 4 1
    19
    		 Norwich City 9 9 3 0 6 -2
    20
    		 Portsmouth 8 8 2 2 4 -2
    21
    		 Burnley 8 10 1 5 4 -4
    22
    		 Watford 8 10 2 2 6 -11
    23
    		 Derby County 6 9 1 3 5 -7
    24
    		 Preston North End 4 10 1 1 8 -12
    Corrections
    Southampton: -4 Points
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