McLeish Looking For Big Reaction After Defeat

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish says he's looking for a 'big reaction' from his players after their 2-0 defeat to Spurs on Monday.

Villa may sit in 8th place in the table but their fans are far from pleased with their season so far. Their lacklustre performance against Spurs even forced one fan in particular to write a letter to the club having been disgraced by the team's performances.

McLeish was never going to be a popular appointment - having joined Villa from their arch rivals Birmingham - but not only that, they were expecting someone with a much better track record - especially when you consider they recently had Martin O'Neil in charge at Villa Park.

'We never laid a glove on Spurs. It was a poor performance.

'We stood off them. It was all half hearted kind of challenges as opposed to really believing in themselves.

'We've got to get rid of that side of things and make sure that doesn't happen again.

'If we are going to go down, we are going to go down with a massive fight and leave every team thinking 'Villa were really about it today' But we weren't the other night.

'We did some fleeting things but just not enough.

'While it is no disgrace to lose to a team like Tottenham, we are certainly a lot better than that.

'There were a few individual performances which were so unlike these guys and we will see what the reaction is on Sunday. I'm looking for a big reaction.

'We have to atone for the other night. We have to apologise to the fans in the best way possible and that's with a rousing performance.

'It's not a performance I want to see repeated.

'We never really got close to Spurs. We watched them play their beautiful trademark football. I don't want to see my teams do that!'

McLeish also says it'll be a tough game against the Swans:

'It's a tough game. Swansea are a good footballing team with a lot of pace and ability. The Swansea team have been playing that way for three or four years because they were doing it that way with Roberto in charge.

'Brendan has inherited a bunch of guys who like to pass the ball but he is a coach who also likes to play in that style. He has carried on the recent tradition of Swansea.

'But, as I said, we've got to show our fans that we want to atone for that performance on Monday night.

'The good thing about this squad of players so far this season is that they have bounced back well and I expect them to bounce back well at the weekend.'

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