Tyrone Mings admits Aston Villa captaincy debacle affected him
At the start of the 2022-23 season, Steven Gerrard opted to strip Tyrone Mings of the captaincy at Aston Villa and gave it to John McGinn.
The decision came as something of a shock after the England international had been a solid player and an even better leader since he joined the club from Bournemouth.
In an interview with The Athletic, the 29-year-old admitted that the whole debacle had affected him but he chose to use it as fuel to prove people wrong.
“I could sit here and say that it didn’t affect me, but it did,” he said. “I just didn’t let it affect me in a negative way and that is something that I’m really proud of.
“It was a very difficult start to the season and there’s no getting away from it. How I’ve managed to put that to one side and play well is certainly my biggest achievement this season.”
Doomed
Gerrard was the master of his own downfall in more ways than one at Villa Park and it all started with this absolutely ridiculous decision.
It is not a dig at McGinn or his leadership qualities to suggest it was a stupid decision to make but Mings had done absolutely nothing wrong to warrant being stripped of the captaincy.
He has always been a model professional and a superb leader of men for Aston Villa and all Gerrard did by changing the holder of the armband is cause havoc within Bodymoor.
It’s a credit to the England international that Mings was able to very quickly park the disappointment and carry on producing top-class performances even after being dropped at the Vitality Stadium on the opening day.
Unai Emery can’t reverse that decision and cause yet more upheaval when it is least needed but he will be relying on the experienced campaigner to be his usual self to help the surge up the Premier League.
In other Aston Villa news, this player is now surely undroppable from the Villans’ side after being the star man amid a flight of injuries.