Tony Xia delivers verdict on Aston Villa and Steve Bruce
By Amir Mir
Tony Xia has stated that the beginning was always going to be “difficult” in regards to Aston Villa and Steve Bruce.
Chinese businessman Xia purchased the Midlands giants in June 2016 after their relegation from the Premier League and he appointed Roberto Di Matteo as manager.
The Italian spent over £50million on nine players last summer, but after a slow start to the season, he was sacked after one win in 11 league games.
As a result, Villa decided to appoint promotion expert Bruce as their new manager and after a positive start, results have since faded away.
Bruce’s side have failed to win a single game in 2017 and they lost their most recent encounter against Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.
Outspoken owner Xia had this to say to supporters in regards to the club and manager Bruce as posted on his personal Twitter account.
“We’re still on out 5-10 year plan,” said Xia. The beginning is always the most difficult.”
Despite ambitions of securing a top six finish this season, Villa are 13 points off their target as there are only 17 games left this season.
The Midlands club have won only eight games this term, only the bottom three in the Championship table have won less.
Their last win came against relegation-threatened Burton Albion at Villa Park on Boxing Day and since then they have lost five matches in all competitions.
However, Villa are still the only team in the second tier who are yet to be beaten at home this season and they can continue that run against Ipswich next Saturday.
In other Aston Villa news, Paul McGrath issues an apology to this Villa ace after criticism following Nottingham Forest defeat.
We’ve launched an << EXCLUSIVE TRANSFER WINDOW NEWS FEED>>. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Aston Villa transfer news