Kevin Phillips revealed that he didn’t envision Aston Villa being able to make the Championship play-offs this season.
The former Villans forward shared that he believes it has been a tough reign for Dean Smith so far and pointed out that fan morale isn’t fantastic at the moment as the ‘boo boys’ have started due to not being pleased.
Phillips avoided making a prediction but highlighted that in his opinion the upcoming clash with Stoke City was fascinating and was one the Villans needed a result from.
“I don’t see them getting into the top-six if I’m being honest Jim, it has been a tough reign for Dean his boyhood club and I don’t live too far from Villa, and having lived there I still have a lot of friends that go and unfortunately the Villa boo boys have started and they’re not too please at the moment,” said Phillips on talkSPORT (Thursday February 21st, 12:27pm)
“So he has a tough job to turn it around and they have a tough game this weekend against Stoke I think as well, so they need a result as do Stoke so it will be a fascinating weekend.”
OPINION
At this point it’s probably harder to find people who believe Aston Villa will make the play-offs then it is to find non-believers. This is because the Villans currently sit 10th and are worryingly, as far as supporters are concerned, nine points off sixth-placed Bristol City. While there is plenty of games left to play this season in order for Smith’s team to make up the difference, they’re going to be relying on the sides above them dropping points. This means the Villans’ play-off hopes are completely out of their hands and this is not the ideal situation to be in. While the Championship often sees the teams lower in the division able to cause an upset over those challenging at the top, it’s still asking a lot for teams above to completely see their form collapse. There’s also the fact the Villans haven’t been playing well themselves lately, which means there would need to be a drastic and quick turnaround which sees them dramatically improve.