Exclusive: Ty Bracey wants to see an Aston Villa cup run this season after Bolton win
We’re delighted to welcome Villa View host Ty Bracey as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Aston Villa should be able to put together a run in one of the cups this season as well as push up the league, according to Ty Bracey.
Amid indifferent form in the league so far, the Villans came back from a goal down on Tuesday (23 August) to dispatch Bolton 4-1 in the Carabao Cup second round, including a goal straight from a corner by Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz.
Although they have drawn Manchester United in the next round, which Bracey believes will be a difficult match-up, he doesn’t think it is too much to wish for the club to reach the latter stages of one of the domestic cups alongside the quest to improve the league finish.
He exclusively told Villa News: “A cup run is something that we all hope for. We all want to go and see our team perform for a trophy at Wembley. It’s a good day out with your mates, potentially a good weekend out with your mates.
“I love going to Wembley with my mates following Villa. We got to a final not that long ago and we were unfortunate against Manchester City.
“It’s Man United isn’t it [in the next round]. So if it’s not meant to be in the Carabao it’s not meant to be and we go again the FA Cup.
“It’s luck of the draw, part of the cup is luck of who your opponents are on the way up. Some people get easier runs than other teams and some get a tough run all the way to the top.
“It’s going to be an easy match. Man United seem to have bounced back on their form against Liverpool, they played some good football, so they’re going to be bang up for it. It’s not going to be an easy fixture.
“I’d like to see a push for top 10 and a cup run. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. We’ve spent a fair amount of money, I feel like we need to spend a bit more.
“But I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a top half finish and at least a decent cup run. I’d like to see us push for a quarter, semi or a final.
“I think it’s definitely possible and the magic of the cup is a lovely thing as a football fan, so I’d love to see us climb and give it a go.”
While some teams focus fully on the Premier League and look to get out of the cup competitions as quickly as possible that often feels like a defeatist attitude.
A serious injury in one of the ties would of course be a big blow, but the boost to the fans provided by a deep run at a trophy is significant.
With victories proving hard to come by in the league so far this year, the ability to get the winning feeling somewhere else should probably not be underestimated from a psychological point of view for the squad as well.
The first step has been navigated with the Bolton win and it will be exciting to see how far this side can go this year.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton says the club are taking the Carabao Cup seriously this season.