When Aston Villa brought on board Roberto Di Matteo as manager for their 2016/17 campaign, he was seen as a ‘name’ – one of those managerial signings that fans hope for whilst secretly knowing they are beyond reach.
However, name or not, it seems that the Italian is under pressure to produce results and fast in order to save his skin at Villa Park according to a report on The Mirror website.
They report that Di Matteo was “under the cosh” after a string of disappointing results, only one win in nine games, and relied on a late Aaron Tshibola equaliser in the 88th minute to get a point from the game with Newcastle United.
The Mirror goes on to say that the Aston Villa boss “has been left under no illusions” as to what is expected of him by Villa’s new, slightly eccentric owner Dr Tony Xia as the former Chelsea player attempts to guide the Villans back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Di Matteo has been backed by Xia, to the tune of £50m, so cannot claim that resources are the excuse for the club’s performance with this financial outlay and the poor results so far combining to put him [Di Matteo] “under huge pressure.
Villa find themselves in a disappointing 17th place in the Sky Bet Championship table on 9 points with a growing reputation as the division’s draw specialists – the Midlands-based outfit having six draws over their nine games this season.
Villa’s next game is away at Barnsley on Tuesday night, the promoted League One side sitting in 7th place in the table. A loss here for Roberto Di Matteo’s Aston Villa side will no doubt bring to the fore more questions about his position at Villa Park.
