OPINION
If a team wants to win promotion back to the Premier League this season then they should be keeping players like James McClean quiet.
That is exactly what Aston Villa failed to do in their 2-2 draw with Stoke City at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon when the 29-year-old former West Brom winger inspired the Potters to win a good point on his return to the West Midlands.
McClean created both goals for Stoke, firstly by snatching the ball off Alan Hutton to cross the ball into the box for Joe Allen to score, before winning a penalty when he was tripped by Ahmed Elmohamady, which Benik Afobe converted.
All of the last four goals that Villa have conceded have come from opposing teams working the ball into the box from the wide area and that is a huge issue that Dean Smith must address in January because his full-back options are utterly awful.
Hutton and Elmohamady were embarrassed by McClean, who has been less than average since signing for Stoke from West Brom in the summer.
The worst thing is that Villa will come up against much better wingers than McClean, starting with table-toppers Leeds United this weekend, who have the pacey Ezgjan Alioski and the cultured Pablo Hernandez in their attack.
Aston Villa can wave goodbye to their promotion hopes if they are being turned inside out by players like the Republic of Ireland international, unless Smith is given a warchest to improve his squad next month.