Wed Nov 23, 2016 10:55 am
Villa have had a poor start to the season, but is it all coming together ahead of Cardiff's trip?
By Phil Smith
23/11/16
"Steve Bruce has instilled a great deal of confidence into the Villa players since taking over last month and the fans are feeding off that. Most Villa fans are realistic enough to know that automatic promotion is a long shot, but they are beginning to think that the play-off are a distinct possibility.
"Bruce is getting the best out of key players. Mile Jedinak has been fantastic recently and one of the contributing factors has been Bruce's decision to build the midfield around him.
"I've spoken to plenty of people who think that Villa and Newcastle have by far the two best squads in the Championship. Not hitting the ground running could ultimately cost Villa automatic promotion, but they will be favourites in pretty much every game they play between now and the end of the season. That works both ways, of course. Villa are a scalp at this level and we have seen teams come to Villa Park and try and frustrate them."