Steve Bruce: Consistency is key for Aston Villa
Steve Bruce says consistency will be the key to a tough December run which pits his improving Villa side against some of the toughest opponents in the Championship.
After suffering his first reverse as manager in the 2-0 defeat against Leeds at Elland Road 10 days ago, Villa got back to winning ways thanks to a late Jack Grealish stunner against Wigan Athletic at the weekend.
And though not the most fluent of the performances under Bruce so far, the boss was pleased with the determination showed by his side against the Latics, who were set up to frustrate any Villa attacking instinct.
Now the boss wants Villa to take that grit to Carrow Road tonight against a side which fell through the Premier League trapdoor with the claret and blues at the end of last season.
The Canaries have been a mixed bag in terms of form this season and after an impressive start to the Championship campaign, they have struggled to maintain their early-season form with pressure mounting on boss Alex Neil.
That was eased with a 5-0 battering of Brentford but their poor form returned to haunt them when they were turned over 2-1 at Barnsley on Saturday.
That made it a run of six defeats in their last seven games and Carrow Road could be an unhappy place for the Norwich boss if Villa can get on top early on.
But Bruce warned ahead of the trip to Norfolk: "It's a long trip and a tough one. This is a big important month and we have to keep going in this vein.
"My first five or six games away from home are all against sides challenging for the top six.
"So it's another tough one – the Championship is unforgiving.
"Norwich won by five last weekend and lost their game this weekend – it's all about finding consistency.
"Brighton have that consistency, Newcastle have got a bit of it too.
"That's what you need – and we have now lost just once in nine games.
"This is a big important month and we have to keep going in this vein."
Bruce may tinker with his line-up for the trip after Saturday's hard-fought win over Wigan, but one player likely to keep his place is match-winner Grealish. The 21-year-old is proof of Bruce's insistence on consistency after several impressive performances since the new boss took over.
And Grealish added: "We'd been on a big run before and the defeat at Elland Road was a hiccup for us.
"The manager told us he wanted a win to get back on track. That's what we have done."
