Jack Grealish has insisted that he and his Aston Villa teammates are still targeting automatic promotion in the Sky Bet Championship, despite finding themselves off the pace following recent results.  

Speaking in-depth to the Telegraph, Grealish has stressed that Villa are still targeting the top-two, despite slipping seven points adrift of Cardiff City, who hold a game in hand over Steve Bruce’s side.

Following an impressive 4-1 victory over Wolves, which put Villa firmly in automatic promotion contention, Bruce’s side have suffered back-to-back defeats, coming unstuck against Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers.

However, despite now finding themselves underdogs in the race for second, Grealish was positive in the way he spoke about automatic promotion, the 22-year-old said:

“We’ve had two bad results after Wolves but we are still looking at the top-two. Anything can happen in this crazy league and we’ve still got Cardiff and Derby at home.”

Villa’s two difficult results prior to this week’s international break dampened the mood around Villa Park, however, Bruce’s side will be looking to bounce back over the course of Easter.

Over the Easter period, Villa travel to the KCOM Stadium to face Hull City, before heading back to Villa Park to take on Reading.

The Verdict

Grealish’s positivity has to be admired, and with eight fixtures of the season remaining, there will be twists and turns before the end of the campaign.

That will be the message Bruce will be giving his side, and with two favourable fixtures coming up after the international break, Villa should really be looking to bounce back with six points to put the pressure on Cardiff.

Aston Villa fans… Let us know your thoughts!