Aston Villa have a number of crucial months coming up as they bid to return to the Champions League and win a trophy.
As of this moment, Unai Emery would claim that the team is on track, but there is still a long way to go.
One of the main reasons why Aston Villa have been so consistent is because of Ollie Watkins and he showcased his power once more on Saturday during the 3-2 win at Luton Town.
Former England women’s footballer Sue Smith was sure to praise the player for his ‘outstanding’ season and how he is getting ‘better and better’, as she told the Football Show on Sky Sports.
Whilst Aston Villa are scoring goals galore, the defensive side of things aren’t great, with the team letting leads slip.
That was touched upon by Ollie Watkins in his post-match interview and how the team is perhaps ‘relaxing’ a bit too much.
Sue Smith referenced that and how she loved the critical analysis from the player because he is still looking to improve, even if he is performing so well.
Ollie Watkins is a ‘coach’s dream’
“I think he has been outstanding,” said Smith. “He just seems to be adding to his game. We spoke about Unai Emery improving players. That’s just another example of a player that’s improved, it’s not just his goals, it’s his link-up play, his movement and the way he moves off the ball.
“His interview was quite interesting where he said ‘I think we relaxed too much’ because they were brilliant in the first half.
“But I always love how Watkins analyses his own game and wants to get better and improve. He must be a coach’s dream. He has that level of ability, but he wants more from himself, which I think is great.”
Ollie Watkins finishing the season strong
It’s all good performing so well up until this point, but now it’s all about doing it when it matters most.
With Villa taking on Ajax in the first leg of their Europa Conference League knockout clash on Thursday, then this is the time to score the important goals.
But it’s not going to stop there because it’s the small matter of facing top-four rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
