Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood reveals he isn't worried by the mounting pressure on him

Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood reveals he isn't worried by the mounting pressure on him

TIM SHERWOOD knows the heat is on but insists he is not about to get spooked.

 

Sherwood’s Aston Villa side desperately need to put Stoke to the sword today and start to shut up the grumblers.

He has got his own secret weapon to ward off social media hysteria – he doesn’t give it the time of day. He is not on Twitter or Facebook and admits: “I can’t even switch on a computer!”

 

But Sherwood is not blind to the fact the pressure is getting cranked up and the armchair pundits are having a field day as Villa languish near the foot of the table.

“I’m always under pressure – that’s part and parcel of the job. I take the brunt of it, but that’s why I’m sitting here. I’m okay. I’m calm,” he said.

“I’d rather do without it. It’s not only the fans in the ground, it’s a tougher job now with all the social media and the faceless people who have an opinion.

 

“They’re entitled to it, the world’s moved on. It’s a tougher job now than it was 10 or 15 years ago. You used to just have Saint and Greavsie but there are a few more pundits around these days.”

And Sherwood says that if he were scrutinising again, he’d give under-pressure bosses like himself and Stoke boss Mark Hughes a far easier ride.

“If I was a pundit again I would say nothing bad about managers – I’d just hammer the players!” he joked.

And he has told his players that if they can’t stand the heat then they should maybe thinking about dropping down a league or two.

“Pressure can weigh on players but if they want to come to a big club they have to expect pressure with that,” he said.

“I said last year when the club was in a bad position we need to go and play, don’t be scared to lose and have a go.

“If you want to come and play for a big club you have to take the expectation and pressure that comes with it, otherwise go and play for a smaller club in the Championship or League One.”