Defender makes 'what if?' admission as Aston Villa enter huge final fortnight
Tyrone Mings admits there will still be a feeling of “what if?” about Villa’s season regardless of how the final fortnight plays out.
Unai Emery’s team head into the final two matches of the campaign still firmly in the race for a top-five Premier League finish and Champions League qualification for a second straight year.
But Mings concedes missing out on a trophy again will remain a source of frustration. Villa lost a thrilling Champions League quarter-final 5-4 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain before being knocked out of the FA Cup in the semi-final at Wembley by Crystal Palace.
Mings told Sky Sports: “Naturally, along the way there will be disappointments and times when you go out of competitions.
“There is an expectation at this club to be successful and win trophies.
“I think that we should never get away from that. There will be a feeling of positivity when the season finishes, and where we end up in the league, but also a tinge of ‘what if?’
“Qualifying for Europe every year shouldn’t be overlooked as it is a huge achievement, but at the same time we want to win trophies and really create history with the club.”
Villa host Tottenham on Friday night in their final home match of the season, knowing victory would send them over Manchester City in the table and into the top five.
Chelsea, who host Manchester United on Friday, are also in the battle and only above Emery’s team on goal difference.
Mings, who has made 21 appearances since returning from a serious knee injury he feared might end his career, said: “After 38 games in the season, you usually end up where you deserve to end up and that is the most deserving way of qualifying for Europe.
“There is no getting away from finishing in the top four, top five, that you absolutely deserve that because of the consistency you have to show over the course of the season.”
