Former Aston Villa goalkeeper Mark Bosnich has heaped praise on shot-stopper Jed Steer ahead of the Championship play-off final.
Steer was influential in Aston Villa reaching the play-off final against Derby County at Wembley, making two crucial saves in the penalty shootout against West Bromwich Albion in the semi-final, after ended 2-2 on aggregate after extra time in the second leg.
That performance capped a remarkable personal season for Steer, who was loaned out to League 1 Charlton Athletic in the first half of the campaign, before returning in the second half of the season and having to wait his chance with Dean Smith’s side brining in Croatian goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic in January.
Bosnich has praised Steer’s character in managing to establish himself as Aston Villa’s first choice keeper towards the end of the season.
“He’s shown great character throughout his career so I’m really happy for him. It’s not easy when you’ve been shipped off here and shipped off there. I think he’s done a great job,” Bosnich told the Express and Star.
“It’s funny because Kalinic is from Croatia – and I’m Croatian really, my father’s from Croatia, he’s an excellent goalkeeper as well, so I’d love to see him do well. But at the moment, I just want to see Aston Villa back where they belong, which is in the Premier League.”
OPINION
Bosnich is right to praise Steer for his ability to recover from being out of the furst team picture at Villa Park at times this season, to being their number one goalkeeper for the Championship play-off final. Steer has earned the trust of Smith towards the end of the season, as Aston Villa embarked on an excellent run to rise from mid-table at the start of March to reach the play-offs. The goalkeeper’s exploits in the second leg of their semi-final against West Brom was vital in allowing Smith’s side to reach a second successive play-off final, while he also made a crucial save in the first leg tipping a Jay Rodriguez effort onto the bar. Villa will be hoping Steer can demonstrate the same type of form against Derby, and if he can make some crucial saves when called upon, it will give Villa an excellent chance of winning the game and earning promotion back to the Premier League. As Bosnich suggests Steer has done an excellent job this season and he will be hoping to cap it off by helping Smith’s side reach the top flight.