MX23RW : Tuesday, April 8 20:19:07| >> :120:11835:11835:

Dean Smith: 'Ollie Watkins was under no pressure to score goals'

Ollie Watkins ended his goal drought by scoring against Newcastle on Saturday.

Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith feels Ollie Watkins may have been putting too much pressure on himself after becoming more goal-orientated in the last 18 months.

Watkins developed into an out and out striker at Brentford and marked his final campaign with 25 Championship goals before his summer switch to Villa, where he scored six times in his first seven Premier League appearances.

Included in the 25-year-old's haul was a sensational hat-trick in the 7-2 win against Liverpool and a double at Arsenal, but his purple patch was followed by a frustrating two-and-a-half-month period without a goal.

He ended his drought that lasted nine games with the opener in the 2-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday but Smith insists nobody at the club was questioning his record – except Watkins himself.

"All goalscorers and centre-forwards will tell you they're not that worried (about not scoring), but really they just want to score goals and Ollie is the same," Smith said ahead of Villa's trip to Burnley on Wednesday evening.

"His mentality has changed since he became a centre-forward at Brentford last season and his mentality is now about scoring goals.

"I've said it before that his work ethic has endeared him to all staff members and players here. Nobody was putting any pressure on him apart from himself."

Villa snapped a three-match losing run to put more pressure on Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce, but they travel to Turf Moor to face opponents high on confidence after bringing Liverpool's long unbeaten home run to an end.

Smith, though, was encouraged by Villa's performance against the Magpies, insisting they have shown they are capable of winning games in different ways.

"It's not always about being gung-ho and cavalier," Smith said in quotes on the club's website.

"It would have been very easy with the form that Newcastle were in to go with a very attacking system, but I just felt we needed to be solid as well, pick up second balls and play from there.

"We've got different ways that we can win games now, which is probably the most pleasing thing. We've got a good organisation and structure so that when players come in, they know their roles and can do a really good job."

John McGinn returns from a one-match suspension while fellow midfielder Jack Grealish is available despite coming off late on at the weekend – much to his chagrin – as a precaution because of a tight hamstring.

Defender Kortney Hause (foot) and forward Wesley (knee) will miss the trip to take on a Burnley side who have overcome a difficult start to the campaign to move seven points clear of the relegation zone.

"Burnley are a very resolute team, and they don't concede many against anyone. They've had an unbelievable result against Liverpool, so it's going to be a real tough game again," Smith added.

ID:432207: cacheID:432207:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4501:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Burnley manager Sean Dyche pictured on January 24, 2021
Read Next:
Sean Dyche believes demands on managers are more short-termist
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool31227272304273
2Arsenal311711356263062
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest31176851371457
4Chelsea31158854371753
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle30165952391353
6Manchester CityMan City31157957401752
7Aston Villa3114984646051
8Fulham3113994742548
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton31121184947247
10Bournemouth311291051401145
11Crystal Palace30111093935443
12Brentford31126135147442
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd31108133741-438
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs311141658451337
15Everton31714103338-535
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham3198143552-1735
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves3195174359-1632
18Ipswich TownIpswich3148193165-3420
19Leicester CityLeicester3145222570-4517
20Southampton3124252374-5110


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!