Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has now held his pre game press conference ahead of the match against Nottingham Forest this weekend and he’s revealed we are close to a new signing.
Villa make the trip to the City Ground on Saturday to face Nottingham Forest and their new manager Aitor Karanka and Bruce knows this is now a telling period when it comes to our hopes for promotion.
He also know we need to see a reaction to the loss to Peterborough United in the FA Cup.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media, Bruce explained.
‘There’s no disputing that we’re disappointed to be out of the cup. However, it was important for the young players and those who had been out for two or three months. We’re also going to be judged by what we do in the league, and rightly so. It’ll be another big game against Forest, and we’ll have less than 20 to play when it’s over. It’s all to play for.’
With Forest’s appointment of Karanka and their four two victory over Arsenal in the cup, he knew it would be a difficult game.
‘We’re expecting a difficult game, they’ve got some good players. Yes, we’re coming up against a new manager who has new ideas. But for me, it’s not the manager we take on. It’s the team and how they perform. The last two games have, arguably, been as good as we’ve been all season. It’s important we maintain that form. If we do, it gives us a chance.’
There might not be much of it left after Peterborough for some, but Bruce believed there was still a feel good factor following the Bristol City win.
‘There’s nothing like a big victory over your rivals to get the place buzzing. But that was two weeks ago now and the important thing is that we remain consistent. I think we have been in the majority. We had a bad 45 minutes against Brentford and made mistakes at Derby and against Sheffield United. But our performances had generally been decent. And we’re now hitting a level in the league that I’ve come to expect.’
On an injury front, John Terry has had a hiccup and Mile Jedinak remains a doubt.
‘I’m waiting on Jedinak. As for Terry, he rolled his ankle on Wednesday. He’s a doubt. He’s just gotten over his lengthy foot injury, so we’ll see how he is. Scott Hogan is fine, he’s trained all week and is available.’
Andre Green continues to come along nicely especially after his Under 23 run out.
‘He got another hour under his belt for the U23s last night, which is what we wanted. We’ve done that and he’s gotten through it, which is good. I’ve got the biggest squad to pick from for a long time, and it’s about time we had a bit of luck on that front. You have to say fair play to the squad for handling that.’
So moving quickly on to transfers.
‘Everyone knows and understands the situation we’re in and that we don’t have loads of money to spend. However, if we look at the loan route, which has been really positive for us with Robert Snodgrass, Sam Johnstone and Josh Onomah, it’s been good for us. We’ll look to go down that route and we’re close to one or two things. Until they get over the line, I can’t really reveal anything. We’re particularly close to one. Let’s hope it can happen.’
Bruce confirmed that the player he feels he’s close to has not been the subject of any recent press speculation.
‘We are particularly close to one, and not the ones that have been spoken about in recent days. Until we get them over the line, out of respect for others, I can’t reveal anything.’
If today’s speculation is anything to go off it’s going to be Manchester United’s Axel Tuanzebe. He’s a 20 year old centre back and that’s about all I know.
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