Express & Star

Colin Calderwood: Villa won't stop fighting for automatic promotion

Assistant boss Colin Calderwood warned Villa won’t stop fighting for automatic promotion until it is mathematically impossible - after Saturday’s 4-0 win at ten man Ipswich kept their slender hopes alive.

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The victory, which equalled Villa’s best on the road this season, moved them back to within three points of second-placed Fulham with two games to play.

And while their chances still rest on slip-ups from both the Cottagers and Cardiff, who are third, Calderwood believes they have at least maintained a little pressure on their rivals.

The assistant boss, who took press duties on behalf of Steve Bruce while the Villa boss visited his sick mother in hospital, said: “We don’t know how hopeful things are for automatic promotion.

“But would like to make them (Fulham and Cardiff) win promotion and not just fall over the line.

“In some ways it helps us keep some sort of momentum, for whatever may happen come the end of the season.

“In all honesty, when it comes to the play-offs, it doesn’t really matter. You can go in with poor form but the experience can still help.

“Whatever it is, you still have to clear the final hurdle and win promotion. There could still be a really joyous day.

“We would like to finish it in a fortnight and do it. We will try for that. But we have an insurance policy of games after that which will be exciting for everyone.”

Goals from Conor Hourihane, Henri Lansbury and a double from Lewis Grabban helped Villa cruise to victory at Portman Road.

After Hourihane had broken the deadlock, their task was made easier by the sending-off of Ipswich’s Grant Ward, who was dismissed for a high challenge on Neil Taylor just before half-time.

Calderwood felt referee Simon Hooper was left with no choice but to show a straight red card.

“In the end, it’s a red card because of the way it has to be these days,” he said.

“There’s no malice, no intent, so as much as you feel sorry for the boy, there was nowhere else for the referee to go.

“The sending off was a big moment

“We gained ascendency with the goal but it made it easy for us with ten men.

“We had a bit more control and composure after that.

“The work in the first half contributed to the openings in the second.”

Grabban, meanwhile, has now netted seven goals in 13 appearances since joining on loan from Bournemouth in January.

The 30-year-old had already notched 12 goals in the second tier while with Sunderland earlier in the season.

Calderwood added: “He’s played two or three positions for us and had an influence in all of them.

“He took his goals well. I really enjoyed them, especially the first.

“He’s had a good season when you add his Sunderland goals together, too.

“It also helps that he has played the first five or six months so he came to us in more-or-less match condition.”