Whelan digs at frail Aston Villa ‘personalities’ after ‘massive’ Smith development
Noel Whelan has claimed Aston Villa manager Dean Smith will be “worried” about the capitulation of his team against Wolves.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted Smith’s “big personalities” should have been able to see the game out as time dwindled.
Aston Villa surrendered a 2-0 lead against Wolves at Villa Park on Saturday, with the away side scoring three goals from set-pieces after the 80th minute to snatch an unlikely derby victory.
As quoted by the Independent after the game (October 16th), Smith accused his players of going “to sleep” as Wolves roared back – questioning his stars’ game management.
The result means Aston Villa lie 13th in the Premier League table with 10 points after eight games.
Whelan slammed the “frail” Claret and Blues, branding their marking and pressing as “not good enough” during the closing stages.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “Goals change the momentum of football matches, and that’s certainly what happened for Wolves.
“Once they got that one back, they only had 10 minutes, but the pressure just got the better of Aston Villa.
“That’s where they needed their big personalities to get through the game and see it out.
“Dean Smith will be worried about the way they managed the game at the end – the marking wasn’t good enough; the pressing wasn’t good enough.
“You need strong players who are able to control the game – that would be my biggest question.
“It certainly seemed like there was a frailty there – it was a massive loss.”
Smith has been at the helm of the Villa Park side since October 2018.
Aston Villa splashed out a reported £90million this summer to bring in Emi Buendia, Danny Ings, and Leon Bailey.
In other news, pundit believes Villa have signed Grealish 2.0.