It is all about the here and now for Tim Sherwood as the Aston Villa manager tries to navigate a path to Premier League safety, but it is hard to resist the temptation to glimpse into the future and wonder what he could achieve with a full season in charge. “I am allowed to sign whoever I want so long as I can justify the signing. But I believe even if we didn’t make a signing we wouldn’t be in this position again,” Sherwood said.
On the evidence of what we have seen so far it is hard to disagree. Collectively, and individually, Villa are unrecognisable from the side who were sleepwalking towards the Championship under Paul Lambert after winning only two out of their last 21 league games with the Scot in charge and scoring 12 goals in 25 matches.
Their goal tally has more than doubled during Sherwood’s 10 league games at the helm, Villa have reached their first FA Cup final in 15 years, optimism abounds among supporters and as a sign of just how much things have changed on the pitch, the sight of Charles N’Zogbia leaving the field to a standing ovation takes some beating.
Assuming Villa do stay up – they are two points clear of the relegation zone and in their final three games they host West Ham United before visiting Southampton and welcoming Burnley on the final day – arguably the biggest challenge Sherwood will face in the summer is keeping the team he has re-energised together.
Christian Benteke, who scored twice in the first half to take his tally to 11 in his last nine Villa appearances, is the club’s prize asset and it will take all Sherwood’s powers of persuasion to get the striker to buy into his long-term vision and sign an extended contract. Another player Sherwood would like to keep is the midfielder Tom Cleverley, who becomes a free agent in the summer.
If there is one card in Sherwood’s favour it is that he has brought the best out of both players since taking over at Villa Park. Could that mean he gets some loyalty in return? “This football club might be a lot different [next season],” Sherwood said. “I can’t think of too many footballers who would have signed a four-year deal like Fabian Delph did when he could have gone to the top four. Maybe Aston Villa is a club they want to show loyalty to. Let’s hope they all follow suit.”
First, and foremost, Sherwood knows that he needs to preserve Villa’s top-flight status. He talked candidly about how much more pressure he feels under compared with when he was managing Tottenham Hotspur last season – “failure here means you are not in the division” – and simply smiled when asked whether he was doing a good job of hiding the responsibility he carries or if he was just being himself.
“I’m just me. A nutcase no matter where we are in the league. I know I have a great opportunity here and beyond next season if we are in the Premier League. Even from a selfish point of view, I don’t want anyone to take that away from me, so I am doing everything I can to make sure we are in the Premier League.”
Everton have no such survival concerns but this was a disappointing way for their six-game unbeaten league run to come to an end. Although Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back from the penalty spot just before the hour mark, Cleverley quickly restored Villa’s two-goal advantage and Phil Jagielka’s injury-time header came too late to fuel hopes of a fightback. Roberto Martínez conceded that the damage was done before the interval. “A club like ours cannot afford to perform with a lack of intensity that we did in the first half,” Everton’s manager said.
Man of the match Fabian Delph (Aston Villa)
