Tom Cleverley has witnessed Tim Sherwood's impact at Aston Villa first hand and feels a renewed confidence will stand them in good stead going into Saturday's Barclays Premier League meeting with Sunderland.
Following a tricky start to life at Villa Park, Sherwood has overseen back-to-back wins over rivals West Bromwich Albion going into this weekend's crucial fixture at the Stadium of Light.
Villa and Sunderland are separated by just a point and a place in the league's bottom five, with Sherwood's men buoyed by the potential returns of striker Christian Benteke (hip) and defender Ron Vlaar (calf).
The Midlands club have not lost to Sunderland in their last seven encounters, with Cleverley explaining the lift that Sherwood has brought to the club since his arrival in February.
"As a man, he's approachable and easy to talk to – he's a good guy. He's fitted right in here," the Manchester United loanee told Villa's official website. "Football-wise, we know exactly what he wants from us. There's no grey areas for the boys.
"He's got us playing well, and he's got enormous passion for what he's doing here. We see it every day and the fans see it on matchday.
"Everyone likes to see that enthusiasm and energy on the sidelines and in training. I certainly do. When we score a goal, it's what we have been working on all week – so why not celebrate? It's good to see that passion on the sidelines.
"Everyone is reading off the same page. And he's lifted the place definitely."
Sherwood is without suspended pair Alan Hutton and Jack Grealish, while Lee Cattermole is banned for Sunderland.
Gus Poyet's men have not won since the start of February and have taken just seven points from their last 10 BPL matches on home soil, but although the Uruguayan is wary of the impact former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Sherwood has had at Villa, Poyet is focused solely on his side.
"It is always different when you change a manager because the players do something extra," Poyet told Sunderland's official website. "It shouldn't be like that, we all know that, but it is natural for human beings.
"They lost a couple but they have come back to win two and for sure the confidence in the camp is different, but on Saturday it is 11 against 11 and we need to perform and we have to be better than them."
Match Facts
Gabriel Agbonlahor has scored in three of his last four Barclays Premier League matches against Sunderland.
Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last seven BPL meetings with Sunderland (W3 D4 L0).
Sunderland have failed to score in five of their last six BPL matches against the Villans, netting just one in the other encounter.
The home team has failed to score in five of the last six BPL meetings between Villa and Sunderland, the exception being the 6-1 victory for Villa in April 2013.
Aston Villa (from): Given, Guzan, Steer, Bacuna, Cissokho, Clark, Lowton, Okore, Senderos, Vlaar, Cleverley, Cole, Delph, Gil, N'Zogbia, Richardson, Sanchez, Westwood, Agbonlahor, Benteke, Burke, Kozak, Sinclair, Weimann.
Sunderland (from): Mannone, Pantilimon, Brown, Coates, Jones, O'Shea, Reveillere, Van Aanholt, Vergini, Alvarez, Bridcutt, Gomez, Johnson, Larsson, Rodwell, Defoe, Fletcher, Graham , Wickham.
Match Appointments
Referee: Neil Swarbrick Assistants: S Ledger, M Salisbury Fourth Official: R Madley
No comments:
Post a Comment
drop your comment about your football hero, their fashion style, like who dresses most, who drink most ,who hang out most like going to club , who plays with woman most and so on