“I’m not belittling my team, but We lacked that big team mentality where they kill games off, which is really disappointing”- Ollie Watkins make controversial comments after Aston Villa draw v Brentford as he says Villa lacks big team mentality
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins hasaired his frustration with his side’s draw against Brentford.
Villa had a frustrating afternoon at Villa Park as Unai Emery’s side failed to secure a much-needed three points against Brentford on Saturday.
The Villans looked comfortable in the opening 50 minutes against the Bees, going 2-0 up at home thanks to goals from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers however, the visitors had other plans.
In a quick fire that came early in the second half, Brentford turned the game around to make it 3-2, with Mathias Jorgensen, Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa stunning Emery’s side with an inspired comeback.
For all of Villa’s hard work in the first half, the hosts then had to fight to take a point from the game that was in their control, as Watkins was the saviour again to level the scoring at 3-3 just 10 minutes from time.
After the game, the £33m Villa talisman spoke strongly about his disappointment over the result, seeing him praised for his honesty.
Speaking to the media after the draw, Watkins expressed his frustrations regarding how his side threw away their position of being 2-0 up at home.
“We lacked that big team mentality where they kill games off, which is really disappointing.”
“Obviously, I’m not belittling my team, I’m part of it, but I feel like we need to somehow figure out when we are 2-0 up, how to just shut up shop and stop them from creating chances.”
The 28-year-old, who netted his 17th and 18th goal of the Premier League season against Brentford, was lauded by BBC Match of the Day pundit Dion Dublin for his comments on his team’s frailties.
“I think he’s brave to say that, he is their talisman and he is right. Everything seems to be going well for Villa at the moment. There are little things that they can tidy up, defensively their positional play is not great.”
Ollie Watkins’ frustrations after the Brentford draw are valid. Considering that Villa are fighting to ensure a top-four finish, it’s disheartening to see the squad’s dip in form of late at a time when every point counts.
With Spurs having two games in hand on the Villans in the race for fourth, it was critical that Emery’s side continued to maintain control, something that they failed to do against the Bees.
Watkins’ comments regarding the squad missing ‘big team mentality’ only show Villa’s progress as the players take accountability that a draw was not enough on Saturday afternoon, but equally highlighted the work that still needs to be done.
Recording only one win from their previous four in the Premier League is not what Emery wants to see from his side at this stage in the campaign, with even greater tests ahead that could derail their fourth-place ambitions.
