Taylor - the pressure is building

Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor has admitted the pressure “will build on everybody” if the club fail to halt their current slump.

A year ago next weekend Villa went top of the Premiership after a 3-2 win over Bolton Wanderers but now they are just two points above the bottom three after losing 1-0 at home to Southampton.

Taylor was regarded as a hero by the Villa fans in his first spell at the club in which he guided them to promotion and runners-up spot in the old First Division before leaving to become England manager.

He was always given a warm reception whenever he came back to Villa Park with Watford but the response was mixed amongst fans when he was re-appointed in February.

And now the chants ringing out from the Holte End after James Beattie’s penalty clinched victory for the Saints were ’we want Taylor out’.

That condemned Villa to a sixth defeat in 10 league games and, just as worryingly, they drew a blank in front of goal for the seventh time this season.

Now it is imperative Villa show a positive response in two daunting away games with Blackburn and Manchester United and a potential Worthington Cup banana skin at Oxford United.

Taylor said: “The pressure builds on everybody if you’ve had the start that we’ve had. It was our sixth defeat so the pressure does build.

“People will apply pressure on you and a lot depends on how much pressure you can control yourself but people will put pressure on you in a number of ways.

“There are some very disappointed people – and I can understand that. I don’t like it but I can understand it because the results aren’t there.

“I am a manager responsible for results and I’ve never ducked that in 30 years of management, That’s my responsibility and if the results aren’t there, I expect to be criticised.

“The reaction I got from the fans is what you would expect in the position we are in. You are going to get that in this day age. It’s as simple as that.

“When you suffer your sixth defeat and lose 1-0 at home to a side in mid-table near yourselves, the people have got to take it out on somebody and the manager is invariably the person who will suffer in that way.

“We are not scoring goals. We had chances again but whatever chances came our way we seem to be snatching at them.”

To make matters worse Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman was red-carded for bringing down Brett Ormerod for the penalty converted by Beattie although television replays suggested Ozalan Alpay had committed the initial offence.

But Saints manager Gordon Strachan was on cloud nine as he received the perfect tonic ahead of celebrating the first anniversary today of his appointment at St Mary’s, although he still thinks his side’s performances can improve.

He said: “Brett was brave for winning the penalty because he put himself between the centre-half and the ’keeper which forces them to make a decision.

“Our form of late has been decent and we are happy with the win but we must improve. When we got forward we didn’t use the ball well enough and after the goal we had four or five opportunities and never took them.

“But it was the battle of the teams who’ve had mediocre starts and the win will make you feel better until the next game.”