Aston Villa skipper John McGinn says Sunday’s crunch Premier League meeting with Tottenham is “the most important game in the club’s recent history”.
Villa welcome Spurs to Villa Park for a monumental battle in the race for top four and guaranteed Champions League football last season.
Victory for Unai Emery’s men would tighten their grip on fourth place by giving them an eight-point lead over Spurs, but defeat would see the London side cut the gap to two points with a game in hand.
With Villa never having qualified for the Champions League before, McGinn knows the importance of the match.
“Everyone knows how important the game is,” the Scot said. “It’s probably, in a league fixture, the most important game in the club’s recent history.
“So the players are aware of that. If I feel over the next couple of days that the boys are not aware, I’ll remind them.
“The supporters will be right up for it and we need to remember that so will Tottenham. We got away with one down at the Tottenham stadium.
“They’re a really good team who we’ll fully respect. But we know at Villa Park we’re a force and hopefully we can get three points.”
Villa won the European Cup in 1982 but they have never played in the modern Champions League.
McGinn admits his side are talking about the possibility of qualifying and knows they have it in their own hands.
“We speak about it, we are ambitious,” McGinn added.
“Obviously we want to achieve something that the club haven’t achieved in a long, long time. Our focus from last year was to try to improve and be competitive in this competition which we’ve done so far.
“Try to improve, get Europa League and then maybe try and get the Champions League. We know it’s in our hands at the moment and we’ve got a really exciting run of games.
“There’s a lot of us that have been through the journey with the club so we’ve experienced the lows and the highs are hopefully still to come.”
Craig Butler revealed that his wish was for his son Leon Bailey to join Ajax, but has no regrets that he has found a home at Aston Villa.
The comments came ahead of Aston Villa's goalless stalemate with the Dutch club in Thursday’s Europa Conference League Round of 16 match at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Bailey, 26, was subject of transfer interest from Ajax during his time at Genk before joining Bayer Leverkusen in 2017. But the Dutch giants continued to follow Bailey throughout the years, and he nearly joined the club on three separate occasions.
Butler revealed that the last potential switch came in 2022, a year after the winger joined Villa and struggled under former boss Steven Gerrard.
"Bailey was indeed already in the picture at Ajax, but also at Genk, to whom I eventually sold him. Ajax did want him, but not according to the agreements that were in place," Butler told Voetbal International.
"We were always very close, but the final push from Ajax was missing. I would have liked to see it happen. Who knows how it would all have turned out, but we stand by the choices we made. In retrospect, it was the steps that were necessary.
"Leon’s transfer to Aston Villa has turned out well. He’s doing well and he loves the fans. Who knows where Leon would have been now if he had gone to Ajax, because Ajax has produced great players worldwide. If Leon had signed with Ajax, he would probably have been sold for a lot more money, but money isn’t everything,” he added.
Bailey himself revealed that being at the Birmingham-based Villa under Unai Emery's leadership is the happiest he's been in his career.
“I would say yes. I think at the moment things have been going really well for me. I've been scoring goals and I've been getting assists," Bailey told the media ahead of the European clash.
"I've been really showing up for the team whenever I call up. And right now, I feel good, and I would say it's the best moment of my career,” he declared.
Ange Postecoglou will not entertain talk of revenge when Tottenham visit Aston Villa on Sunday.
Spurs travel to Villa Park for what will be a crucial match in the battle for Champions League qualification with the hosts currently occupying fourth spot in the Premier League.
Villa have also won the last three meetings with Tottenham, but the narrative of revenge surrounds an incident from the previous clash on November 25.
The fixture marked Rodrigo Bentancur’s first start in nine months. However, it was cut short by an ill-timed tackle from Villa full-back Matty Cash that earned him a caution and forced Bentancur off after 32 minutes with an ankle injury.
Cash’s challenge sparked a melee between both sets of players and had unavailable Spurs personnel gunning for the defender, who was later given an escort by his team-mates to the away dressing room at half-time, but Postecoglou laughed off suggestions payback could be on the cards.
He insisted: “No interest mate.
“For us, the challenge is to face a really good team, with really strong home form and beyond that you’d be surprised about how little that stuff infiltrates what we do and sort of our motivations for a game of football.
“If anything, they’re the type of things where you hope that as you mature and develop as a team become less and less important or a focus.
“When you’re clutching at those kinds of things, you’re losing sense of what’s important. What’s important for us is to be at our best against a very good football team and try to get a result.”
Cristian Romero was suspended for Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Villa in November but made clear his disapproval of Cash’s tackle from his seat by the home dugout.
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The Argentina defender is no stranger to a poor challenge after he was sent off for catching Enzo Fernandes of Chelsea on the shin earlier this season, but that red card is a rare blot on a largely clean copybook for Romero this term.
Appointed vice-captain by Postecoglou last summer, Romero has relished the extra responsibility and been able to swap his previous recklessness for a new-found level of composure that has seen him yet to be booked in 2024.
This time last year Romero had received two red cards and already been shown nine cautions, but alongside one sending-off this season, he has also only been given four yellows, while his average tackles per league game has decreased from 2.5 to 2 and fouls per game reduced from 1.6 to 0.7.
Postecoglou lavished praise on his centre-back, who has developed a new habit for goals after he headed in his fourth of the campaign in last weekend’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
“He’s outstanding but I thought he was from day one,” Postecoglou said.
“He’s a World Cup winner as a starter. Not just part of the squad or as a contributor.
“He’s got great pedigree, he’s a great defender, great guy, very driven, very motivated. Highly, highly competitive in everything he does and I love that.
“There’s nothing more you’d want in an athlete and he’s a great example for the rest of the guys.”
Spurs will have Pedro Porro available for the Villa Park clash, but Richarlison is set to remain sidelined with a knee injury.
Ange Postecoglou has insisted Champions League qualification is not the equivalent of a Willy Wonka golden ticket and will be meaningless unless Tottenham can build on it this summer.
Spurs travel to Aston Villa on Sunday with both clubs vying for fourth spot, which will guarantee a place in Europe’s elite competition.
Fifth could also secure Champions League football, but Postecoglou – without naming them – cited Manchester United and Newcastle as examples of teams who have failed to kick on after finishing in the top four last season.
“There are a couple of teams who got into the Champions League this year from last year, had a good season. Does that guarantee anything the following season? No,” Postecoglou stated.
“What’s more important is that come the end of this year, we’ve got a team that’s going to challenge the following year and keep growing. Right now, the most important thing is us, our identity and our football.
“It’s not a Willy Wonka golden ticket, you know? It just gets you a year in the Champions League, but if you don’t build on that or grow from that, it is meaningless, I think anyway, because we’re not in it for participation, we’re in it to win things.
“Yes, if we make Champions League this year it means we’ve progressed from last year, but has our football progressed?
“Are we a better team? Are we a stronger team? Are we going to improve in the summer to make sure that next year we are going to be even better?
“That’s much more important to me. My target this year has always been to create a team that I hope will lay strong foundations for moving forward being a team that can win things. That’s where it begins and ends.
“Logically as you say, if we’ve improved and make Champions League, it means we’ve had a decent year. But that isn’t going to give me any comfort if we’re not playing the football that I want to play and we haven’t improved in the off-season to make sure we’re ready for the next step.”
Tottenham, who will have Pedro Porro back for the Villa Park trip but remain without Richarlison (knee), are also an example of a club who failed to progress after Champions League qualification in 2022.
Postecoglou’s predecessor Antonio Conte left 10 months after he secured fourth spot with Spurs, then going on to finish outside of the European spots last season.
It resulted in fan unrest before Postecoglou’s arrival united the fanbase, but supporters have expressed their frustration this week following changes to season ticket prices.
Spurs will increase season tickets prices by six per cent next season and, from the 2025-26 season, there will be no new senior concession season tickets available.
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust were “dismayed” by the six per cent increase and labelled the changes to senior concessions as “unacceptable”, while a new fans group called Save Our Seniors has been created in an effort to co-ordinate a campaign to make the club reverse its decision.
Postecoglou said: “Supporters are the lifeblood of any football club and I am not going to try to dictate how they feel.
“They have a voice, they have a strong voice and avenues to express their opinions. I will always abide by that and accept that.”
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery insists Sunday’s crunch Premier League clash with Tottenham was not on his mind when naming his side for Thursday’s 0-0 Europa Conference League draw at Ajax.
Emery made several changes, with John McGinn, Matty Cash and Leon Bailey among those dropping out, and Villa put in a disjointed performance in the last-16 first-leg tie in Amsterdam.
Villa do not have long to recover ahead of Sunday’s huge clash with Spurs, where they could strengthen their grip on a top-four place and Champions League qualification.
But Emery said: “Not really thinking about Sunday because we decided the starting XI with the players with Tim (Iroegbunam) and Morgan (Rodgers) because we didn’t have one player like Tim after injury to (Boubacar) Kamara.
“Ajax have a lot of young players and with Tim we have to do the same and play around players with experiences.
“We decided to play with Pau Torres but knowing the maximum of him was not 90 minutes because maybe that would be taking a risk.
“McGinn, he had a small pain and was a doubt and I prefer not to take a risk. But more or less I was trying to be positive with those players but really we didn’t control the game like we wanted.”
Villa took off Pau Torres at half-time, but Emery said that was planned.
“Pau had a small injury two weeks ago and didn’t play against Luton and we did a plan with him,” he added.
“The plan before the match is not completely 100 per cent because the result and how the match is going.
“I think tactically we needed to change something and we did, and the plan was to play 45 minutes with Pau and we decided to do that.”
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery knows his side survived a scare in their goalless draw at Ajax in their last-16 Europa Conference League first-leg tie.
Villa were second best throughout the night at the Johan Cruijff ArenA but the Dutch giants, led by England international Jordan Henderson, could not make their advantage count as it ended 0-0.
But Emery’s men will now be confident of winning next week’s second leg at Villa Park, where they are so strong, and booking their spot in the quarter-finals.
“It is always difficult to play away in Europe, here you see the atmosphere they have,” he said.
“It was a very high level match, we are taking experiences in Europe and we can feel favourites but it’s very difficult and if you’re showing in other matches in Europa League or the Europa Conference League you can see some big surprises.
“I’m happy, we didn’t play well, we didn’t control the game like we prepared and like we usually do but I accept that as well.
“They worked and they were very intense in the tactical play. They were winning more than us in some moments in the field and they deserve more.
“I’m happy because I knew before the difficulties we were going to face, the players are a little bit upset because they were not feeling comfortable but to compete is the most important.
“For me now it’s very important this result is open for next week and now we will try to do something different and try to respect them, because now we know them better.
“My message before was the same. At Villa Park we need our moment next week and try to play and be more successful than today in our idea.
“We didn’t deserve more than we got tonight.”
Villa were reliant on goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to produce an important save in the second half and were unable to produce their dynamic attacking football at the other end.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the final 10 minutes as Ezri Konsa was harshly sent off for two yellow cards, with Tristan Gooijer following for the hosts moments later.
Ajax are nothing like the side that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League five years ago and are labouring in fifth in the Eredivisie.
They signed Henderson in the January transfer window to try and provide some experience and coach John van ‘t Schip says he is already delivering and could still do a job for England.
“He is a real professional, he is a leader, I think you can see it on the pitch, the boys around him feel that and expect that.
“He had a difficult start because he came out of Saudi Arabia and didn’t play for a month and he wasn’t happy. He immediately found his pleasure back in training and playing games.
“At first he maybe didn’t get the results he wanted but now clearly you can see he is very important, not only on the pitch but also off the pitch, talking about things that can improve the whole environment.
“We have seen him play today and against PSV, two big games, then for sure and I think Southgate knows very well what he can get from Jordan.”
Aston Villa survived a testing assignment at Ajax as they drew 0-0 in the first leg of the Europa Conference League last-16 in Amsterdam.
Villa were second best throughout the night at the Johan Cruijff Arena but the Dutch giants, led by England international Jordan Henderson, could not make their advantage count as it ended goalless.
They were reliant on goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to produce an important save and were unable to produce their dynamic attacking football at the other end.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the final 10 minutes as Ezri Konsa was harshly sent off for two yellow cards, with Tristian Gooijer following for the hosts moments later.
But Unai Emery’s men will now be confident of winning in next week’s second leg at Villa Park, where they are so strong, and booking their spot in the quarter-finals.
With a crunch game in the race for the Premier League top four against Tottenham to come on Sunday, Emery made several changes to his side, with John McGinn and Leon Bailey among those dropping out.
One of the replacements, Moussa Diaby, almost made an early impact when he created space for himself only to shoot straight at Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.
Ajax are nothing like the side that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League five years ago and are labouring in fifth in the Dutch Eredivisie.
But they gave the Villa the run around in a first half where Emery’s men were pegged back and lucky to survive.
Henderson gave them a scare on the half-hour when he whipped a 25-yard free-kick over Martinez’s crossbar before the home side’s big chance six minutes later.
Jorrel Hato brought the ball out of defence and played in Brian Brobbey with a defence-splitting pass, but the Netherlands international shot into the side-netting as he closed in on goal.
Villa did not improve much after the break and brought on McGinn and Bailey to try and get control of the game.
But they were reliant on Martinez to keep them level in the 68th minute as the World Cup winner produced a smart stop to keep out Kenneth Taylor’s effort from Borna Sosa’s cut back.
Villa’s task looked like getting harder after Konsa had to walk for a second yellow card when it looked like he was being fouled.
But Gooijer picked up his second booking moments later and Villa were able to see the game out unscathed.
Unai Emery backed Ollie Watkins to make England’s Euro 2024 squad after his two goals helped Aston Villa to a 3-2 win against Luton.
The 28-year-old took his tally for the season in all competitions to 21 at Kenilworth Road, first heading in from a Leon Bailey corner then finishing via a post following Douglas Luiz’s quick free-kick.
It is now his best Premier League season in terms of goals scored, with 16 in the top flight as Villa have emerged as surprise contenders to qualify for the Champions League.
Gareth Southgate has less than three months to decide which forward players to take to Germany alongside captain Harry Kane, with Watkins staking a claim as a leading contender.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney, who missed the first five months of the season due to a gambling ban, is also in the frame.
“Every player is showing in their teams their quality, their capacity, their commitment, their performance,” said Emery.
“Then of course, the coach of the national team has to decide. But I think he deserves to be there.”
Victory on Saturday cemented Villa’s place in the top four with nearest challengers Tottenham five points behind, after Lucas Digne’s 89th-minute header secured a dramatic victory against Rob Edwards’ relegation-threatened side.
Earlier, two quick goals from Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris had wiped out the lead given to Villa by Watkins in the first half.
But two substitutes combined to nick it for Emery’s side at the end, Moussa Diaby crossing for Digne to turn it home at the far post just as Luton seemed to be on top.
“This is the idea, when you’re taking decisions, trying to make an impact,” said Emery of his late substitutions. “Trying to do something different, with fresh players. They did fantastic.”
Emery handed Morgan Rogers his second Villa appearance since joining from Middlesbrough in January, coming on in the first half for the injured Jacob Ramsey.
The 21-year-old forward was then withdrawn towards the end, a move the manager said was not a reflection on Rogers’ performance.
“Today he had minutes, he’s had experience with us, practicing with us in an official match,” he said. “He did very good work, but I decided tactically to change him.
“But it’s normal. I did it against Liverpool, changed Leon Bailey after he came on after 20 minutes when Diego Carlos got injured, then off in the second half.
“It’s a tactical issue and it’s never a big issue for the player.”
Unai Emery backed Ollie Watkins to make England’s Euro 2024 squad after his two goals helped Aston Villa to a 3-2 win against Luton.
The 28-year-old took his tally for the season in all competitions to 21 at Kenilworth Road, first heading in from a Leon Bailey corner then finishing via a post following Douglas Luiz’s quick free-kick.
It is now his best Premier League season in terms of goals scored, with 16 in the top flight as Villa have emerged as surprise contenders to qualify for the Champions League.
Gareth Southgate has less than three months to decide which forward players to take to Germany alongside captain Harry Kane, with Watkins staking a claim as a leading contender.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney, who missed the first five months of the season due to a gambling ban, is also in the frame.
“Every player is showing in their teams their quality, their capacity, their commitment, their performance,” said Emery.
“Then of course, the coach of the national team has to decide. But I think he deserves to be there.”
Victory on Saturday cemented Villa’s place in the top four with nearest challengers Tottenham five points behind, after Lucas Digne’s 89th-minute header secured a dramatic victory against Rob Edwards’ relegation-threatened side.
Earlier, two quick goals from Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris had wiped out the lead given to Villa by Watkins in the first half.
But two substitutes combined to nick it for Emery’s side at the end, Moussa Diaby crossing for Digne to turn it home at the far post just as Luton seemed to be on top.
“This is the idea, when you’re taking decisions, trying to make an impact,” said Emery of his late substitutions. “Trying to do something different, with fresh players. They did fantastic.”
Emery handed Morgan Rogers his second Villa appearance since joining from Middlesbrough in January, coming on in the first half for the injured Jacob Ramsey.
The 21-year-old forward was then withdrawn towards the end, a move the manager said was not a reflection on Rogers’ performance.
“Today he had minutes, he’s had experience with us, practicing with us in an official match,” he said. “He did very good work, but I decided tactically to change him.
“But it’s normal. I did it against Liverpool, changed Leon Bailey after he came on after 20 minutes when Diego Carlos got injured, then off in the second half.
“It’s a tactical issue and it’s never a big issue for the player.”
Unai Emery hailed Ollie Watkins as one of the best strikers in Europe after his double helped Aston Villa to a dramatic 3-2 win over Luton at Kenilworth Road.
A header in the 89th minute from substitute Lucas Digne ensured Villa won for the third game in a row in the Premier League to stay five points clear of Tottenham in the race for Champions League qualification.
Emery’s side were comfortably on top in the first half and went in at the break with a commanding two-goal lead given to them by Watkins’ brace.
Luton struck back, seemingly re-energised by the looming prospect of a fourth straight league defeat, with goals from Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris, but Digne’s late intervention settled the contest in Villa’s favour.
However, it was the contribution of Watkins that was singled out by Emery.
“Fantastic, brilliant,” he said of his team’s top scorer, who now has 21 for the season.
“He’s an example for other players. Every day working hard, every day trying to learn more.
“His mentality, to increase his level, practising and practising on the training ground. His commitment to work in the tactical areas we are planning every match.
“He’s scoring, he’s getting chances, he’s assisting, defending set-pieces. He has been available to play 90 minutes more or less, keeping fit to play a lot. He’s fantastic.
“But he needs his team-mates as well to help him. We are a team. We have to try to get our performances through the team. With the commitment he’s showing, for everyone he is an example.
“For mentality, it’s difficult to find a player better than him. But his skill is also a high level.
“He wants to learn every day, to increase his level. Of course, his first objective is scoring goals, but then as well, tactically, his work has been fantastic. Understanding, being clever.”
Asked if Watkins was one of the best in Europe, Emery said: “Yes, of course, he’s showing. The Premier League is the toughest league maybe in the world.
“But as a person he’s humble. He avoids the ego changing him. He’s fantastic as a person and as a professional.”
Luton boss Edwards, whose team are four points adrift of safety with 12 games to play, reflected on a result he found difficult to take.
“Bitterly disappointed,” he said. “The goals were avoidable, all three of them, as they always are.
“There was so much to like about the performance. Villa are so organised and a good team and it is not easy to score goals against them. They can hit you hard with counter-attacks or control the game.
“They are a very good team, but I thought we dominated the second half and had an outstanding performance.”
Aston Villa maintained their push for a top-four finish in the Premier League as substitute Lucas Digne headed an 89th-minute winner to defeat Luton 3-2 at Kenilworth Road.
Unai Emery’s side looked to have thrown away two points, allowing Luton to fight back from two goals down in the second half, until Digne arrived at the far post to turn Moussa Diaby’s deep cross past Thomas Kaminski and into the net, in front of ecstatic away fans.
The hosts had fought back bravely to level the game at 2-2, Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris scoring after a brace from Ollie Watkins had seemingly put Villa in control at the break.
Defeat for Rob Edwards’ side was their fourth in a row, whilst Villa maintained their five-point lead over Tottenham in the race for the Champions League.
Kaminski had been the home side’s hero in the opening quarter, first diving full stretch to turn away a right-footer from Jacob Ramsey, then yet more acrobatically when Watkins got in down the right and lashed one towards the near post, beaten behind brilliantly by the goalkeeper.
Yet his endeavours were rendered in vain a minute later when from the resulting corner Watkins headed Villa in front. Leon Bailey’s ball arched invitingly into the six-yard box where the Villa striker had got free, and he used the space afford by slack Luton marking to rise up and direct the ball coolly past Kaminski into the top corner for his 20th goal of the season.
Villa lost the influential Ramsey to injury on the half-hour mark, but it did little to break their confident stride. Watkins almost made it two 10 minutes before the break, standing up Teden Mengi on the right before knocking it round the defender and cracking a low shot off Kaminski’s far post.
Luton had been warned about Watkins’ pace in behind but their high line continued to allow him space, and soon he had made good on his threat of a second.
The defence had pushed up towards near the centre circle when Douglas Luiz lumped one over the top for Villa’s top scorer to stride on to. With no one in orange near him, he made light work of clipping Villa’s second goal in off the post. VAR checked for offside, but Watkins had timed his run perfectly.
Edwards’ side emerged with renewed urgency after the break and the home support responded in kind, roaring their team on as they began to find success attacking down the right with the lively Issa Kabore.
A goal to give them hope arrived after 66 minutes. Villa failed to deal with a corner, forcing Matt Cash into a desperate headed clearance off the line. Still the defence dithered, and as the ball ricocheted back into the six-yard box, Chong pounced to thump it home.
Suddenly Villa were tottering. Six minutes later, their lead was gone and it was the simplest Luton goal.
Alfie Doughty hit a huge, raking free-kick from near the touchline which sailed over everyone to the back post. Arriving unmarked with time to pick his spot was Morris, who timed his run expertly and with barely an upwards glance swept it beyond Martinez.
Luton were now rampant and an almost identical move gave Morris the chance to win it, fractionally failing to make the required contact as the ball was flashed across goal from Doughty’s free-kick.
They looked at least to have done enough for a point, but then came Digne’s dramatic intervention at the death to break Luton hearts and keep Villa in the Champions League driving seat.
Former Southampton and Northern Ireland defender Chris Nicholl, who captained Aston Villa to League Cup glory, has died at the age of 77.
Nicholl, who also managed Southampton before taking charge of Walsall, had been living with dementia, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which he attributed to brain damage caused by repeatedly heading balls over his lengthy career.
The former central defender’s death was confirmed in a family statement on his daughter Cathy’s Facebook account.
It said: “It is with a heavy heart that we write this. Chris Nicholl (our dad) sadly passed away peacefully on Saturday evening in hospital.
“He fought a very long battle with CTE, caused by his dedication to football. Words can’t describe how much we’ll miss him.”
Wilmslow-born Nicholl, who was capped 51 times by Northern Ireland and represented them at the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, began his career at Burnley, but made more than 200 appearances for both Villa and the Saints.
A dependable defender, he famously scored with a 40-yard piledriver as Villa lifted the 1977 League Cup with a 3-2 second replay victory over Everton which went to extra time at Old Trafford.
In a series of posts on the club’s official X – formerly Twitter – account, Villa said: “Aston Villa is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former player Chris Nicholl, who has died at the age of 77.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Chris’ family and friends at this difficult time.
“A two-time promotion and League Cup winner, Chris Nicholl’s achievements in claret and blue will never be forgotten.
“He was a dominant figure at the heart of the Aston Villa defence for over five seasons, making 252 appearances and scoring 20 goals.
“Rest in peace, Chris.”
After hanging up his boots, Nicholl moved into management at the Dell when he was appointed as Lawrie McMenemy’s replacement during the summer of 1985, and it was he who promoted the emerging talents of Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and Rod Wallace to the Southampton first team.
Shearer said on X: “RIP Chris Nicholl. You believed in me and gave me my chance. Thank you.”
Le Tissier added: “The thoughts and prayers of my family go out to the family of my first manager Chris Nicholl, who has sadly passed away.
“I’ll always be eternally grateful to Chris for having the faith in me as a 17 year old boy to give me my opportunity to prove I was good enough to be a professional footballer. Gone, but never forgotten #RIPChris.”
Nicholl parted company with the Saints in May 1991 and spent three years out of the game before taking the hotseat at Walsall.
The Saddlers said on X: “We are devastated to learn that former manager Chris Nicholl has passed away.
“Chris led the Saddlers from 1994 to 1997 and won promotion to Division Two in what was a memorable 1994-95 campaign.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this incredibly sad time.”
Nicholl was reunited with McMenemy during his spell in charge of Northern Ireland, serving as his assistant manager.
A statement on the Irish FA’s X account said: “We are saddened to learn of the passing of Chris Nicholl. He played 51 times for us, including the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time”
In 2017, Nicholl told Shearer as part of a BBC documentary of his fears over the damage he had suffered during his playing career.
He said: “I am brain-damaged from heading footballs. My memory is in trouble.
“Everyone forgets regular things, where your keys are. But when you forget where you live, that’s different.
“I’ve had that for the last four or five years, it is definitely getting worse. It bothers me.”
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was pleased to return to home comforts after registering a first Premier League win at Villa Park in 2024 with a 4-2 success over Nottingham Forest.
Villa had lost back-to-back games to Newcastle and Manchester United but put that right against Forest to strengthen their grip on a top-four place.
Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz’s double saw them cruise into a 3-0 first-half lead only for Forest to scare them with goals either side of half-time through Moussa Niakhate and Morgan Gibbs-White.
But Leon Bailey struck on the hour to give Villa breathing space and they saw it out to give themselves a cushion over the chasing pack.
Emery said: “We were very excited and very motivated after we lost two matches at home after a long time in a row winning matches here, and feeling comfortable and strong and connected with our supporters and being confident.
“But after we lost two matches a home we could have lost a little bit of our confidence and could have lost something tactically.
“But we were planning the same matches that we played against Newcastle and Manchester United, even though we lost.
“We reacted well in Sheffield (United) and reacted well against Fulham and we were focused on getting confirmation we reacted well at home.
“Firstly playing with personality and second trying to control the game with our style. First half we did fantastically and I was very happy, I was feeling comfortable and confident.
“When they scored the goal it was the only chance we conceded in the first half and we started the second half with some doubt and they scored a goal but our reaction was fantastic as well, like we did before in other matches.
“After some doubt we reacted and were again playing with personality and trying to control the game.”
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was left to rue “a bad performance”.
Forest were overrun in the opening 40 minutes, but still found themselves back in the game with their goals either side of half-time.
They could not complete a comeback, though, as their poor start cost them.
“We started really, really bad, the beginning of the game was bad, it was too easy for the opponent to score,” the Portuguese said.
“We didn’t play well. A very bad first half, even though the goal gave us some hope, we started the second half really well at 3-2, we had a good chance for 3-3, the game was there for us.
“Then again a bad situation that put Villa 4-2 and it was game over. To sum up, a bad performance.
“That is something we are going to work on, analyse and try to understand why and try to understand if we can be better.
“I really believe we can do better – individually and as a team because it is too easy for the opponent to score.”
Aston Villa strengthened their grip on a top-four position in the Premier League with a pulsating 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest.
Villa have their sights firmly set on Champions League qualification and a first home league win of 2024 saw them move five points clear of Tottenham in fifth.
Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz’s double saw them cruise into a 3-0 first-half lead only for Forest to scare them with goals either side of half-time through Moussa Niakhate and Morgan Gibbs-White.
But Leon Bailey struck on the hour to give Villa breathing space and they saw it out to give themselves a cushion over the chasing pack.
Forest were lucky still to be in the game at half-time after being overrun in the first 40 minutes but improved after the break and had enough chances to scrape a point, which would have been handy in their battle against relegation.
Villa needed less than four minutes to go in front as Watkins scored his 14th of the season.
This was one of his easiest finishes, though, thanks to the work of Bailey, who gave him a simple tap-in after being played in down the right and making light work of Murillo.
Watkins could have had his second six minutes later as Villa advanced down the other side, but the England striker’s shot from Jacob Ramsey’s cut-back was blocked on the line by Niakhate.
Villa’s second goal came just before the half-hour and again was built on the right as Cash passed to Ramsey, who teed up Luiz to sweep into the corner.
Forest skipper Gibbs-White summoned his team for a huddle after that went in and gave an impassioned speech, but it had little impact as Villa went three up in the 39th minute.
John McGinn sent in a delightful cross from a recycled corner for Luiz to plant a free header into the corner for his second of the match.
Forest gave themselves a lifeline in first-half injury time as Taiwo Awoniyi headed a corner back across goal and Niakhate chested the ball over the line from close range.
They made three changes at half-time and it had the perfect impact as they made it 3-2 shortly after the restart when substitute Divock Origi slipped Gibbs-White through and he clipped by Emiliano Martinez.
Moments later it should have been 3-3 as Anthony Elanga was sent clear by Origi but dragged his shot wide.
Villa had been like rabbits in the headlights but they began to reassert themselves and almost scored a fourth when Alex Moreno teed up Youri Tielemans, but the Belgian stroked his effort into the post.
The hosts did take control again on the hour as they made it 4-2, with Forest shooting themselves in the foot.
Playing out from the back, Andrew Omobamidele passed to Tielemans, who slipped in Watkins and when Matz Selz came out to block the loose ball it fell to Bailey who had a simple tap-in.
Unai Emery lauded Ollie Watkins’ “fantastic” performance after the Aston Villa forward scored twice during their 2-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Watkins’ brace took his Premier League tally to 12 and Rodrigo Muniz scored his fourth in three games as the spirited Cottagers failed to find a late equaliser.
Villa boss Emery lauded the striker’s commitment as he continues his bid to be a part of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad with England.
“He was fantastic,” Emery told a press conference.
“The best action was in the first half where he created a chance for (Youri) Tielemans.
“When he’s scoring, it’s very important for him and for us. I’m very happy with him and I believe his commitment has improved a lot. Defensively in set-pieces he is also very important, I’m very proud of him.”
Fulham came back strong in the second half through the in-form Muniz but Emiliano Martinez and Villa put on a resilient display to protect the three points.
Adama Traore came off the bench late on but Martinez bailed the visitors out with an impressive one-on-one save in second half added-time.
Emery praised the way his side kept composure when reacting to Fulham’s goal.
When asked if he was happy with Villa’s defensive efforts, Unai added: “Yes of course.
“It’s part of the game when you try and stop their qualities and their tactical ideas.
“We were calm at 2-0 but we made some mistakes for their goal. We reacted very well because our mentality was to not complain, keep the game plan and be strong in our structure.
“Emiliano (Martinez) saved it at the end and I think we deserved to win the match.”
Marco Silva admitted his side’s “soft” performance cost them on the day.
The Cottagers boss was disappointed with the defensive mistakes which allowed Watkins to punish Issa Diop in the lead up to his second goal.
“We cannot concede the goals that we did this afternoon,” Silva said.
“We were punished by the second goal, we were really sloppy in the way we defended that and it was a big punch to ourselves.
“It’s disappointing for us. We need to be much more aggressive and not so soft, because wen were soft.”
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