Defender Ciaran Clark has said that he feels Villa will really kick on next season under the charge of Tim Sherwood and the returned Kevin MacDonald.
Speaking to the Official Site the Republic of Ireland international explained that everybody got a lift when the K’Mac returned to the club a few months back, and obviously that contributed to the lifting of spirits we saw under Sherwood in the final weeks of the season.
‘Kev has been brilliant. All the lads enjoy working with him and, of course, some of us know him from when he was here in the past. Everyone was excited to see him come back and we’re delighted he’s here working with us now. I can’t speak highly enough of Kevin. He helped bring me through the system and also was the one who gave me my first real run in the team when he was caretaker manager after Martin O’Neill left.’
Clark went on to explain that he was a ‘top guy’ and ‘top coach’ who knows all about the club and what it means to the supporters given his previous association with us.
‘I think he’s been a great addition to the backroom staff. As the gaffer said when he arrived, it’s great to have people here who know the fabric of the football club. Kev certainly does – and he’s a brilliant coach too. Sessions have been superb with the gaffer and Kev – and it was great to get over the line at the end of the season and retain our status. It was a real relief – and hopefully we can push on now.’
Given Clarkie’s rise through our youth ranks himself, he also knows Sherwood and MacDonald will be key to lifting the age groups below the seniors because MacDonald’s work at Under 21 level is well known and Sherwood isn’t shy of putting youngsters in the first team.
‘Personally, I owe him a lot. When I’m retired and looking back at my time in the game he’s definitely one of the people I will remember – as well as Tony McAndrew and Gordon Cowans too. When I was coming through, they were real role models, tough taskmasters – but they always had our best interests at heart.’
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