GRANT DEFENDS HUTTON

Aston Villa assistant manager Peter Grant has defender their new defender Alan Hutton, who was criticised by West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson for making reckless challenges. The Baggies won their match against Villa 2-1, but will have to do without striker Shane Long, who limped out of the match following a rough challenge by Hutton. As Hodgson said, it was a “wicked challenge”.

But Villa assistant manager Peter Grant said: “I know how Alan has been painted but he’s not that type of player.”

“People haven’t said in the past that Alan is aggressive, goes over the ball and is a dirty full-back. I don’t think anybody has ever said that in his career. They’ve said he is an attacking full-back who likes to get forward.

Grant believes that Hutton’s biggest problem is that he is impatient to win the ball so that he can prove himself to his new fans. “I think his biggest problem sometimes is that he’s desperate to hit the ground running in games. There’s that impatience in his game.”