Stan Collymore has delivered his verdict on Aston Villa after their 3-0 win over Derby County on Saturday, claiming that consistency will now be key for Dean Smith’s side.
The two Championship sides could not find a breakthrough in the first half but Villa blew the Rams away with a scintillating second-half display as Conor Hourihane, Tammy Abraham and John McGinn scored.
Collymore has now delivered his verdict on the win, claiming there was plenty of room for optimism but calling for the club to find some consistency in the coming weeks.
The former Villa star posted his verdict on his personal Twitter account after the game:
Well, fellow Villans, plenty of optimism and rightly after such a good performance, cl sheet and result.
We've been here before though with good wins in the FLC against good teams.
Consistency, consistency, consistency.
Manager will demand it, hope the players now do.#UTV
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) November 10, 2018
OPINION
This was a huge result for Villa, who have really established themselves as a team to be feared under Dean Smith with that display in the second half. Few would have seen a 3-0 win coming after the first-half stalemate, but Villa really blew Derby away in impressive fashion. The Villans looked unplayable at times against a highly capable Rams team, and with the kind of resources that Smith has at his disposal, a push for the top-six looks a real possibility after such a poor start to the season. Players like John McGinn and Jack Grealish are easily among the best in the Championship, and when you add goalscorers like Tammy Abraham and an ever-improving defence to the mix and you have a team of real quality at Villa Park. Collymore’s verdict on the situation is absolutely spot on, and they will need to find that consistency if they want to make that charge for promotion.