Aston Villa 1 Bournemouth 2: 'It is a massive challenge for any club to go down,' says Eric Black
Caretaker manager saw his side slump to an eighth straight defeat at home to Bournemouth
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Your support makes all the difference.Aston Villa have been warned of the massive challenge they face to bounce back to the Premier League after their dreadful season continued amid increasing anger.
Caretaker manager Eric Black, who saw his side slump to an eighth straight defeat at home to Bournemouth, says a huge shift in mentality will be needed for Villa to return to the top flight at the first attempt next season.
Norwich’s defeat at Crystal Palace and Sunderland’s loss at home to Leicester delayed Villa’s relegation, mathematically at least, until Saturday, when anything other that victory at Manchester United and favourable results elsewhere will rubber-stamp their fate.
However, that did not appease furious supporters, who again turned on their players and owner Randy Lerner, and Black is warning there is no guarantee of brighter times ahead unless attitudes change.
“It is a massive, massive challenge for any club to go down,” said Black, who was assistant boss at Birmingham in 2007 when they bounced straight back from relegation.
“You come from winning three games this season and if Aston Villa are in the Championship next season they’re going to have to win a minimum of 26 or 27 to get out of it.
“You’ve got a complete change of the expectation and pressure.
“Aston Villa will be like Manchester United if they go into the Championship and go to Rotherham, or wherever.
“It’s a huge, huge challenge but it’s not an impossible challenge.
“There has to be a strong mentality that runs through the group because you have some really difficult tasks out there on a Tuesday night when there’s not 40,000 people there and teams don’t make it easy for you to play.
“It’s a really tough division. Psychologically it’s a hard division and physically it’s a harder division than the Premier League at times because of the repetition of games.
“So the squad has to be constructed properly, otherwise you give yourself a mountain to climb.”
Steve Cook and Josh King scored either side of half-time as Bournemouth moved through the 40-point barrier, with Jordan Ayew’s fine 85th-minute strike for the hosts offering little comfort.
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