Ex-manager: ‘I know Smith well’ and he’ll be baffled after Aston Villa confession
Alex McLeish has admitted the Aston Villa squad need to show some mental fortitude after the “gutting” 3-2 defeat to Wolves.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Villa boss insisted Dean Smith will have been baffled by his side’s dramatic collapse.
Leading 2-0 after 80 minutes, Villa allowed Wolves to score three late goals to seal victory over their Midlands rivals.
As quoted by Sky Sports, Smith confessed he was “struggling to process” the result and insisted the team would “talk about it” this week.
Defeat means the Villans currently sit 13th in the Premier League table, two points behind Wolves in 10th.
It is the second time this season Villa have lost 3-2, although they were 3-0 down to Watford on the opening day of the season.
McLeish insisted both players and manager would be scratching their heads over the collapse.
McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “It’s a matter of determination, it’s a matter of saying: ‘We can never let that happen again.’
“They’ll be asking themselves why they didn’t manage the game better at the end? It became like pinball. The way Wolves came back, something seemed to spark every one of them.
“Traore was brilliant again, causing mayhem. Defenders throwing themselves at small chances that turned into winning goals.
“Villa will be gutted. I know Dean well and he would have had a sleepless night that night, for sure.
“You go home, you look at the game again, analyse it the next day or something. You think: ‘How did that happen?’ That’s the beauty of football.”
Villa will look to bounce back with a win over Arsenal on Friday night.
The Gunners drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace on Monday.
In other news, McLeish has made an “incredible” Aston Villa transfer claim as January raid reported.