Having secured his permanent move to Aston Villa from Bournemouth over the summer, centre-half Tyrone Mings put in a very good performance as we opened up the Premier League campaign against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Although we fell to a 3-1 defeat, there were plenty of positives from how close we ran Spurs, and certainly from the organisation we showed to keep them out for so long in the game, and although we all know the fine margins that apply when stepping up to the top flight – it’s nothing we won’t learn to deal with in future games. It’s also fair to say that whilst no match is easy, we won’t face the quality of Spurs week in and week out and had Trezeguet made more of his chance when we could’ve made it 2-0, the game could well have turned out differently.
Speaking to the Official Site to give his thoughts on the match, I think most fans will agree with Mings’ summation of the 90 minutes.
Plenty of positives to take, but clearly the lessons we need to learn are obvious to everyone.
“My overriding feeling is one of positivity. Ultimately we won’t play a Champions League finalist every week, but we know we can’t be defensively good for just 80 or 85 minutes. We have to be right at it for 90. We’ll take positives. But we need to learn quickly. It’s a relentless league. We have to get off the mark quickly. It’s unforgiving. But there’s no panic. We showed we are capable.”
If anything, five words in his interview, are the most important.
“We know the level now.”
For those who have tasted Premier League football previously, it was a reminder. For those new to both the league, and in some cases the country, it was a wake up call. We will be better, and those that can’t be simply won’t last long.
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