Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood was a relieved man after his team’s 4-0 win over Sunderland.
Villa were not given much of a chance going into the match after they had scored very few away goals this season. However, it took only 28 minutes for the club to double the total number of away goals that we have managed throughout the whole campaign. All the goals in the match came in the first half with Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor grabbing a brace for each other. Sherwood was a strange appointment given that he did not have much managerial experience.
However, the former Tottenham boss has managed three successive victories in all competitions. Apart from ensuring safety for the moment, Villa have also reached the semifinals of the FA Cup after overcoming West Brom in the last six. Speaking after the victory, Sherwood stated that Villa were now playing completely different compared to when he arrived. Former boss Paul Lambert was criticised for his defensive tactics on a number of occasions. Boasting the attacking abilities of Agbonlahor, Benteke, and Manchester City’s on loan signing Scott Sinclair, the team has been able to find a strong footing in the attacking department.
Villa are now three clear of the relegation zone with nine matches left in the campaign. “I was getting to know them. I was shown videos of how they were playing. As much as I’ve watched all the footage back of all their early games in the season, it’s almost unrecognisable to how I want them to play.I want them to play on the front foot, show pace on the counter-attack. We’ve got a lot of pace here.I want to play with wide guys, I want them to work hard and want our defence to be responsible. We’ve done all of that,” said Sherwood.