Former Aston Villa star and current Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie has been left drooling over Glenn Whelan’s impact on the club’s performances and his teammates this season.
The Villa veteran has been a mainstay under Dean Smith since the manager’s arrival, having played a fleeting role under his predecessor Steve Bruce, with 36 appearances in the Championship this season, his latest coming in the play-off semi final against West Brom.
Speaking before he made his costly error for the Baggies’ opener, Hendrie heralded the manner in which he brought out the best of John McGinn and Jack Grealish by doing the dirty work in the middle.
Speaking on the Sky Sports’ coverage (11/05, 12:07) of their clash against West Brom, he said: “Glenn Whelan has been absolutely immense.
“I watched him at Bristol City – he was by far the best player on the pitch. He’s almost sitting, doing that defensive duty. I think Dean’s said to the midfield ‘I want you to push further on, a lot further on,’ it’s making McGinn and Grealish play a lot higher up the pitch.”
Opinion
Whelan might not be anyone at Villa Park’s favourite after his performance against West Brom on Saturday but there is no denying that he has been a standout performer when it comes to getting the best out of those around him. He is not flashy and he is not technically gifted but he is an impeccably hard worker with plenty of experience under his belt. He is willing to sit back and cover the back four to allow McGinn, Grealish and the rest of the Villa attackers to surge forward and put the opposition to the sword. When the opposition push forward themselves, he has a knack of putting himself in the right place and the right time to break up their progress and get the ball back to those who are going to make a difference. It was a shame to see him falter against West Brom but you know he will not let that eat at him for too long heading into the second leg of the play-off semi finals.