Steve Bruce confident Aston Villa can quickly halt slide
Steve Bruce is confident Villa will quickly recover from their mini-slump and avoid any further damage to their promotion prospects.
Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Derby leaves fifth-placed Villa three games without a win, while the gap to the automatic promotion places has now grown to ten points.
Sheffield United, who sit one spot behind them in the table, visit Villa Park this weekend for the first of four games in ten days over the festive period.
Bruce said: “We have to dust ourselves down, see what we have got and go again next week.
“Saturday was the first time we had been beaten in weeks. There are no guarantees in this league but I am quietly confident we will get through the sticky patch. It’s the way the Championship is.”
Bruce will hope to have striker Keinan Davis back available, after the 19-year-old missed Saturday’s game through illness.
Josh Onomah was utilised as a makeshift forward at Pride Park but Bruce refused to use Villa’s lengthy injury list as an excuse.
“I don’t want to make excuses,” he said. “It was a bitter blow losing Keinan because of the impact he has had and the fact he is our only real No.9 now Jonathan Kodjia is not there.
“It’s a disappointment for us but I don’t want to make that an excuse. We all know the situation.”
