Steve Bruce staying grounded as optimism grows at Aston Villa

A run of just one defeat in 12 and six wins in eight has, over the course of a few weeks, dramatically altered the mood.

Players who for so long appeared nervous and inhibited in the spotlight are now beginning to play with confidence and a swagger, the challenge of getting the club back in the Premier League suddenly looking a little less daunting and more achievable with each passing result.

Just don’t expect Bruce to lose his air of caution anytime soon. On Wednesday night in Preston, after arguably the most complete performance of his 13-month reign, the manager was notably reserved in his praise and things were no different yesterday morning at Bodymoor Heath.

Four previous promotions from the Championship have taught Bruce the importance of playing the long game in a division when fortunes can alter significantly in the course of a single week.

That said, things are definitely looking up, the most distinctive change being detected in dressing room tone.

Results help, of course. Yet there are reasons to believe the current positivity around Villa’s squad is built on solid foundations.

For one, players are fighting tooth and nail to first get in the team and then stay there, something which should be automatic at any club but for a long time wasn’t at Villa, where a decent living could be made for nothing more than mediocrity.

This season has already seen Conor Hourihane, Albert Adomah and now Alan Hutton, in the unfamiliar position of left-back, force their way into the starting XI. The team has become a survival of the fittest and the results have followed.

Hutton kept his place in the team at Preston despite the availability of Neil Taylor following suspension, a deliberate move by Bruce to show those players consistently performing will keep their place.

“If players are doing everything they possibly can to stay in the team, it’s up to me now as the manager to reward them,” he said.

“There is no doubt Neil Taylor is the only natural left-back we have got. But how could I leave out Alan Hutton the way he performed?

“I had to reward him and give the message to the rest of the squad that if you perform you will keep their place.”

Bruce credits veterans Glenn Whelan and John Terry with helping transform the dressing room focus. The signing of Terry, which was not without risk, is in particular beginning to appear an increasingly inspired move.

After an admittedly shaky start, the 36-year-old has gotten firmly to grips with the Championship’s physical nature and of late his pedigree and class has shone through.

With James Chester also in excellent form, Villa have kept seven clean sheets in their last 10 games. Yet another reason why supporters are, slowly, beginning to believe again.