Tim Sherwood needed more time at Aston Villa, says Ray Wilkins
Wednesday 4 November 2015 12:36, UK
Ray Wilkins admits there was a sense of "inevitability" behind Tim Sherwood's sacking at Aston Villa, but would have liked to have seen him given more time in charge.
Sherwood was sacked as Villa boss on October 25, when Wilkins also left his role as assistant manager at the club, after a run of six straight league defeats which left them bottom of the Premier League table.
Wilkins told Sky Sports News HQ: "Desperately disappointed, it is never a pleasant situation when you lose your job and I feel very sorry for Tim as well. He's a young manager, only his second job, and it has been extremely difficult for him.
"We live in a world of results and if we are not getting results then it is always going to be the same situation.
"If you are not winning for such a long period then that inevitability seems to be there but I would like to have seen him given a little bit longer to see if we could turn it around because we tried everything to get them playing in the best possible fashion."
Wilkins said the failure to sign Emmanuel Adebayor may have been one reason for the club's poor run of results, with the side scoring just nine league goals this season before Sherwood was sacked.
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"From the coaching aspect and the way we played, we tried to play in every different way but it didn't turn out for us unfortunately," Wilkins said.
"Probably had we got Adebayor in when it was very close then that may well have helped us immensely because he is a proven Premier League goalscorer, so that would have helped but these things happen.
"It is frustrating obviously because you don't get the results and it wasn't because the players weren't trying, it was because at certain times we made bad mistakes and we didn't quite have the ability to score enough goals to overcome those mistakes."
Wilkins said it was vital for clubs to invest in their squads if they are to stay in the Premier League and acknowledged the team had been unable to challenge the top positions in the league since Martin O'Neill led Villa to sixth in 2008.
"Mr Lerner has put a lot of money into the club and over the last couple of years that money hasn't really been there," he said.
"Obviously when you put in so much money you've got to be careful where your money is going so he is a bit wary of the situation but, unfortunately, when you are in the Premier League you have to invest to stay in.
"The decision, I think, from Aston Villa to relieve Tim of his post after 28 games, but 10 this season, was the fact that there was still 28 league games to go and a new manager might be able to turn it around."
