Tommy Elphick comments on his time at Aston Villa and current captain Jack Grealish

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Tommy Elphick was released by Aston Villa during the summer but has been recalling some fond memories of his time at Villa Park.

Elphick came through the ranks at Brighton and told their official website how it felt to captain Villa and what it was like to play with current skipper Jack Grealish.

He said: “Straight away I knew deep inside I wanted to go there.  It’s only when you are there that you fully appreciate how big it is. Everywhere you go, there are Villa fans, to captain that club was such an honour.

“When things go well, there is nowhere better, no better experience in football than having the Holte End roaring you on.

“If you gave me the choice again of staying in the Premier League with Bournemouth or dropping down to the Championship to captain Villa, I would make the same choice again every time.

“The first day I saw Jack Grealish in training, I thought ‘Wow, this is someone special. You have to have that self-belief, and arrogance almost. He has the ability to back it up.”

TBR’s View – Elphick’s comments underline the size of the club

Elpick is just putting into words what Villa fans know to be true about their club.

They are a huge outfit and never should have been in the Championship.

Elphick was there at a time when it was tricky to get the club moving in the right direction but it’s clear he still holds Villa in high regard.

He knows what it takes to captain Villa and rightly feels Grealish is perfect to do it; he has been the heartbeat of their push for survival so far this season.