Aston Villa will be massively relieved at beating Hull 1-0 on Monday night. They hadn’t won a game since early February and that will be a big boost.
One or two things have gone wrong for them and I think there’s a few nerves around the place, to be honest.
You could sense that against Hull. Defensively in the last five or ten minutes, they were a little bit on edge.
For a top-six side, it’s not the sort of thing you would expect. You’d expect them to be bright, but they have had a tough time.
I think, whatever level you play at, when you sense the crowd are a bit on edge, it does affect players. Even the best players get a little bit nervy.
But, even though they did look nervy on Monday, I thought they did deserve to win the game.
It’s a worrying time for Hull. I think you can see the pressure’s really on in the relegation battle.
When you’re at the bottom end, you do make silly mistakes and things go against you. It’s very hard to find your way through it.
But, even though they’re not picking up points at the moment, Hull have enough in the bag as things stand. Results are going for them at the moment, so they just need to keep hanging on.
I think already having the points – rather than just having winnable games – will help them to sleep at night.
Still, there’s a lot going on down at the bottom and I’m not quite sure who will go down at the moment.
I wouldn’t bet on anything. Out of the bottom clubs, there might still be a surprise. There are still some key games to come and it’s a real test for the managers in charge to motivate the players and get the best out of them.
Showing them how to get out of trouble is what management’s all about and we can only judge who’s been successful at the end of the season.
Brian Little was speaking on Football Matters