Sheffield United defender Enda Stevens explains why it didn’t work at Aston Villa

Add as preferred source on Google

Enda Stevens has been a key part of the Sheffield United side which has taken the Premier League by storm this season.

His second bite of the Premier League cherry has gone better than his first, when he was at Aston Villa and he has been speaking to the Times about where it went wrong for him at Villa Park.

He said: “You get the taste for it, you feel like you’re comfortable. Then I got injured, I probably didn’t look after myself or my body right. I was going out drinking, things like that. Not living my life right away from the training ground. I asked [Chris Wilder] for some advice. He said I had to get out of Villa, start playing regular football.

“At Villa, I never appreciated what I had until it was gone. It was a great environment, but the environment in the dressing room wasn’t. As a team we weren’t going through the best of times. It bred negativity and you end up becoming negative yourself.”

TBR’s View – Wilder’s advice was absolutely spot on

The interview shares that Wilder was manager of Northampton Town when Stevens’ loan spell in 2014 was cut short after just four games.

That’s when he told Stevens he had to get out of Villa and he was right. That regular football has been the key behind Stevens building his way back up to the top flight.

Wilder has now taken Stevens back under his wing again and Bramall Lane is now an example of what can be achieved when everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Stevens feels Villa was not like that when he was coming through but there’s little doubt he is now making the most of his talent, as a Premier League and international regular.