Premier League

Luke Hatfield credits John Terry as the main man behind Aston Villa duo’s improvement

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Image for Luke Hatfield credits John Terry as the main man behind Aston Villa duo’s improvement

Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield believes John Terry was a big part in helping Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa’s improvement at Aston Villa. 

Terry played and captained Aston Villa in the 2017/2018 season, featuring 36 times in all competitions, before deciding to hang his boots up and join the coaching staff at Villa Park.

The former England international was appointed as Dean Smith’s assistant and has spent three years in the Villa Park dugout, helping the club win promotion back to the Premier League.

In their first season back in the top flight, Villa had the second worse defence in the division, conceding 67 goals and finishing 17th. Fast forward a season later and the club had a tremendous campaign, finishing eleventh in the table and conceding 21 goals fewer than they did the previous year.

Two players who featured in all-but-two of Villa’s Premier League matches last term were Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, both of whom Hatfield believe improved whilst John Terry was at the club.

Speaking to This Is Futbol, Hatfield said: “He’s been vital in terms of the work he’s done on the coaching field, the likes of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa have both improved massively at Villa and JT has been a big part of that. 

“When you’ve got a player, who’s had the experience that he’s had at a defensive level, in terms of Premier League, Champions League, international performances you can’t really do much better than that, you know if you’re a centre-back looking to learn having him there has certainly helped them.”

John Terry was linked with the Swansea manager’s job after leaving his post at Villa Park, but Russell Martin was eventually appointed the new Swans boss, with Sky Sports News understanding that Terry has no immediate job offers but is open to opportunities.

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