Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish has stressed the importance of cutting out mistakes after back-to-back defeats. The newly-promoted side were always going to be at risk of making a slow start to the season after a huge influx of players over the summer.
Dean Smith spent around £130million to enhance his squad during the off-season with 12 new additions arriving at Villa Park.
Six of those started Saturday’s loss to Bournemouth, although Tyrone Mings and Anwar El Ghazi did spend last season on-loan at Villa before joining permanently ahead of this term.
In fairness, five of those did start the season-opener at Tottenham, with Douglas Luiz being the only change for Villa’s second game.
But it appears Smith’s summer business is impacting performances as the players have yet to gel and it’s unclear how long this could persist.
After losing 3-1 at Tottenham, Villa fans were optimistic of picking up a maiden win of the season when returning to Villa Park.
However, two early errors proved extremely costly as they fell 2-0 down inside 12 minutes.
Bournemouth’s opener came just two minutes in when Tom Heaton brought down Callum Wilson to concede a penalty.
Joshua King dispatched from 12 yards before a mistake from Luiz allowed Harry Wilson in to net Bournemouth’s second on his debut.
Luiz did redeem himself in the second period by pulling one back for his new club but they were unable to find a second to pick up their first point of the season.
They also made unforced errors against Tottenham last weekend and Grealish says it is something they have discussed in the dressing room.
Grealish told the club’s official website: “It’s disappointing and – we’ve all said it (in the dressing room), the manager (Dean Smith) said it to us – we have to cut out the mistakes.
“I gave away the ball last week for Harry Kane’s goal (in the 3-1 loss at Tottenham) and then we’ve given away a penalty and a deflected goal (on Saturday).
“As soon as we cut these mistakes out, I am sure we will be fine.”
Villa are the only newly-promoted side yet to register any points this season and they are likely to find life tough next time out too when they take on Everton.
The Toffees boast a draw and a win from their two outings and have been tipped to challenge for a top-six spot this season.
