Aston Villa are enduring a torrid spell after their demotion to the second tier of English football. Steve Bruce hasn’t really been able to take the club forward and under his tutelage, Aston Villa have lost five games on the trot, thus leaving them hovering just over the dropout zone. Their latest 2-0 defeat in the Championship against high-flying Newcastle United was another testament of their self-inflicted helplessness and no wonder why Bruce must be on the edge of his throne at the moment, for his days might be severely numbered if such a woeful run doesn’t cease to exist.
However, the silver lining for the Villans in the loss against Rafael Benitez’s troops was the return of Mile Jedinak from the sidelines owing to his groin injury. Bruce isn’t unaccustomed of what Jedinak is capable of and rushed him into his starting line-up at St. James’ Park. However, he was pulled out after 25 odd minutes in the second half for the sake of getting back into the contest as Bruce threw Albert Adomah into the pitch. Nonetheless, the former Crystal Palace midfielder did a neat job and arguably, his return could be instrumental in changing Aston Villa’s fortunes in the upcoming fixtures.
The 32-year-old is a very industrious player who shields the back four, toils meticulously for winning possessions, covers every blade of grass on the pitch and has been influential in the midfield wherever he has plied his trade in. In 21 appearances this campaign for the Lions, the Aussie international has knitted the side together with 669 passes and creating 13 chances in the process as well. By the time he was plucked from the Selhurst Park, he had inked his name at the top level and made 179 appearances for the Eagles and scoring 10 goals as well.
Jedinak’s perfectly timed return could prove to be a source of solace for the Aston Villa fans who have been repeatedly let down by their club. In the relegation dogfight which is bound to get nasty in the upcoming months, Bruce might have received a blessing in disguise with the prospect of using the veteran week in and week out once again. A touch of class was on display earlier this week from him, and a continuation of the same is what is expected from a player who is arguably one of the best players on Championship to bring cohesiveness to the side once again.
Statistics Credits: Squawka.
