Don Goodman shared that he believed Aston Villa did have a chance of making the Championship play-offs but pointed out they needed to still play Leeds United and Norwich City.
The pundit shared that the Villans have been on a confident-boosting run lately but with their last two games being against third-placed Leeds and current league leaders Norwich, it wasn’t done and dusted by any accounts.
Goodman then directly remarked on manager Dean Smith in order to revealed that he thought he was talented and therefore that meant the Villans had just as much chance of anyone of making the play-offs.
“Well again I think the run of wins will really be a confidence booster if you look at the calibre of teams they have beaten as all those teams are fighting for a play-off spot so I think they’ll take confidence of winning those four games,” said Goodman on Sky Sports News (Monday March 18th, 9:36am).
“The one thing I will say, is that their last two games are against Leeds United and Norwich City, so y’know it’s not done and dusted.
“They area team in form, they have shown at times, a little inconsistency, they mustn’t let that creep back into their game, I do believe they have a talented manager and have as good a chance of any.”
OPINION
Aston Villa’s play-off hopes looked dead and buried a few weeks ago but that isn’t the case anymore. The Villans have strung several positive results together and look more than capable of forcing their way into the Championship’s top-six. While Goodman believes playing automatic promotion contenders Leeds and Norwich could be a problem, it could work to the Villans’ advantage. If the race to be in the Championship’s top-two goes down to the final games, which looks likely, Smith’s side could be facing some rather nervous teams. While Leeds and Norwich will be desperate to beat Villans if their hopes of Premier League football rely on it, the pressure may also get to them and see Villa have a chance to beat them. Also it’s worth noting that the Championship is known for the being the league that regularly sees upsets occur as it feels like anyone can beat anyone. So while the Villans’ fixture list may look difficult on paper, they may still reach the play-offs.