Want to be right up there in European spots but we need to win games, proclaims Matty Cash
Aston Villa’s Matty Cash has revealed that while the club have lofty goals of playing European football in the future, they need to start winning games more consistently first. The Villa Park side have had a good start under new boss Steven Gerrard, with four wins out of their six league games.
After a fantastic start to the 2020/21 season, many expected Aston Villa to be challenging for a European place by the end of the season but things went downhill fast for the club. They went from battling for the top six to struggling to finish in the top half of the table, with Dean Smith’s side eventually finishing in 11th place. However, the loss of Jack Grealish over the summer affected the Villians even more with the enduring a torrid start to the 2021/22 season.
It saw Smith lose his job less than three months into the new season with Steven Gerrard replacing the now Norwich City boss. Since then, the former Rangers manager has enjoyed a sensational start to his time at Villa Park, winning four of his opening six league games. It has seen Villa push back up the table but Matty Cash admitted that for them to challenge for a European place, they need to be winning more games and doing things more consistently.
"Everybody knows the ambition Villa have got. The club want to be right up there in the European spots, but we need to win games to be there. I think we've built a good platform to progress, we're in the top 10 and we're on the up having won some games; it's a cliché but we need to focus on every game,” Cash told Sky Sports.
"When you're winning games the environment is always good, that's just how it is. But it's also nice to be winning games and playing really well. The atmosphere around the place is really good and that has come from getting results.
“We've gone out there, enjoyed our football, and to be hard to beat, that's what has implemented, being aggressive with it. When we've got the ball, we enjoy it, and we try to play with a smile on our faces,” he added.
Gerrard has transformed the Villians with them looking far more defensively solid although the issues up top still remain. But that hasn’t stopped them from winning games with only Manchester City and Liverpool beating the former Rangers boss in the league so far. It saw Cash reveal that things have definitely changed under Gerrard as the club have a different style of playing now and that the new boss has brought about a lot "of intensity" to their game.
"We've definitely got a different way [of playing now], maybe getting tighter together and shifting as a team, which makes it really hard for other teams against us. So people are seeing what we're about. He's brought a lot really, a lot of intensity in training, energy to our play, we've got a style of play, attacking football. So a lot of change, and it has really benefited us,” he further revealed.