Bailey buoyed by ‘brilliant’ Villa performance

LONDON (CMC):

REGGAE BOY Leon Bailey said it was “brilliant” the way Aston Villa played under caretaker boss Aaron Danks after they thrashed Brentford 4-0 at Villa Park in the English Premier League on Sunday.

The Jamaica-born 25-year-old winger scored just two minutes in and followed up his opener by crossing for Danny Ings to double the lead inside seven minutes.

The striker added goal number three on 14 minutes from the penalty spot and Ollie Watkins grabbed a fourth after the break.

“I think it was brilliant in terms of how we played as a team, how we were there for each other,” Bailey said on Villa TV.

“As we went back into the dressing room after the game, we saw a clip of the 89th minute where they had a corner, they countered and the whole team was sprinting behind the ball. And for us, that shows we’re a good team, we know what we’re about and that’s what we need to win games. Hopefully, this can be the mentality moving forward.

“So, it was brilliant, everybody individually and collectively – the staff, the fans, everybody was on their feet doing what they needed to do to support. Obviously, this game was very important for us and I’m just really happy we were able to deliver like that.”

CONFIDENCE

Bailey added: “The first half was amazing, the whole game was amazing, but to be on the front foot that early, it gave the whole team a lot more confidence and that’s what kept us going. As I say, everybody was playing their part, the fans were brilliant again.”

The win moved Villa up to 14th in the table, three points above the bottom three. Brentford, meanwhile, are 10th on 14 points.

Brentford are still without an away win this season and striker Ivan Toney – a one-time Reggae Boyz target recently called up by the England camp – insisted similar performances will be unacceptable.

“Shambles, to be honest. Shambles,” he said afterwards.