Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has opened up on his frustration over playing a limited role in recent big games after our 4-1 win over Newcastle Utd on Saturday evening.
After totalling just 25 minutes of playing time across both legs of our Champions League quarter-final tie with Paris Saint-Germain, and having been left on the bench for key Premier League games and in the FA Cup over the past month, it’s been a difficult few weeks for Watkins as he’s had to watch on from the sidelines.
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However, he responded brilliantly at Southampton last weekend as he sparked us into life in our 3-0 win, while he repeated the trick this time round with a superb performance as we saw off Newcastle and continued to close the gap on our rivals in the battle for Champions League qualification.
While he has been brilliant on the pitch in showing the right attitude and character to deliver when called upon rather than sulking and allowing the decision-making from Unai Emery to have a negative impact on him, Watkins conceded that he has been left frustrated by his lack of minutes for massive games in our season this month, but he’s been focused on taking his opportunities when they come round to make it as difficult as possible for the Villa boss to drop him again.
“I think obviously being out of the team nobody is happy to sit on the bench. You always want to play in the starting line-up. Today, I was ready to go and I wasn’t going to let that opportunity slip,” he said, as quoted by BBC Sport. “We knew Newcastle were going to go man-to-man. Personally, I like it when teams do that.
“Since I have been at Villa, a lot of Villa fans would say it is the best squad we have had. The 3-4 signings we made in January, players like Rashford and Asensio coming in the quality means players like myself and players have to drop to the bench and there’s going to be lots of rotation. The manager is going to have a headache as I’m banging on the door asking why I’m not playing.
“Champions League, we have put in a lot of hard graft to get to that position. I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games. I am not going to lie, I was fuming that I wasn’t playing – I let him [Unai Emery] know that. He’s the manager, at the end of the day you have to respect his decision. I am not one of these players which is happy to sit on the bench.
“Something I have not experienced before and to miss out on the biggest stage. I think me and a few others were disappointed that we didn’t start the game, but it is the manager’s decision. The team played well, but I wanted to be out on the pitch for much longer. I have played a big part to get to where we are today and I want to play in those games
“Against Southampton I came off the bench. I was angry I wasn’t playing and you have got to use that as motivation rather than let it hinder you.
“We are doing unbelievable now and we have a great home run. We have to keep wining these games. We have got to win all the games in front of us and win that Champions League spot.”
As noted above, it’s crucial that the 29-year-old has responded positively and made his mark to help the team instead of going the other way and becoming a potential liability, and it has to be said that he did deserve a more prominent role against PSG, having been so integral to us getting to that point.
That said, Emery is in charge, knows his squad better than anyone and is fully trusted to make the best decisions for the team to ensure we continue to progress and enjoy success.
In turn, Watkins will have to continue to accept those decisions, but having taken his tallies to 16 goals and 13 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions so far this season, Emery will surely have a hard time leaving him out at Manchester City in midweek, as well as for our FA Cup semi-final showdown with Crystal Palace next weekend.
Both Watkins and Villa were sensational on Saturday against Newcastle, and it’s hoped that he can continue to fire us on, while the rest of the team continues to contribute as we build momentum and peak at the right time in the business end of the campaign.
