Aston Villa owner Dr. Tony Xia believes the next ten games will be pivotal to their season as they look to secure a return to the Premier League.

Steve Bruce’s men are currently fifth in the table but have had a real inconsistent season. They followed up a five-game winless run with hugely important back-to-back wins against Middlesbrough and Bristol City over the festive period.

The 5-0 trouncing of the Robins was a particular highlight as Villa produced their best football of the season.

However, there’s a long way to go and whilst fans will be looking at the five-point gap that separates Villa and the automatic promotion places, the same gap goes down to 10th place, highlighting how tight it is.

And, taking to twitter, Xia reckons the next ten games will have a serious impact on Villa’s season and called for the fans to unite.

Whilst no game is easy in the Championship, of those ten games seven are against sides that are currently in the bottom half. That includes games against the current bottom three as well.

Villa’s next game is away to Nottingham Forest in what will be Aitor Karanka’s first game in charge of the Reds.

The Verdict

Even though they lost in the FA Cup, changes were made and the Villa side should still be confident after the Bristol City game.

As the owner points out, this is the ideal opportunity for the West Midlands side to build real momentum given the opposition they are up against.

Of course, each game is a challenge, but the fixture list is relatively kind and it should give Bruce’s men the ideal platform to secure an automatic promotion position for the run-in.

Thoughts, Villa fans? Let us know in the comments below.