'It's been tough' - Ollie Watkins lifts lid on 'stop-start' Aston Villa season

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins wants to kick on after admittedly enduring a "stop-start" season so far.

The forward returned to Bodymoor Heath after Euro 2024 with an injury and came off at the hour mark in each of Villa's first three league games before the September international break. He then scored four goals in the next three league games and has bagged a total of seven times in 14 league starts so far this term.

Watkins faces competition from Jhon Duran, who has found the net in each of his last two starts against Southampton and Nottingham Forest. Having scored in all five starts for Villa in all competitions this season, the Colombia international has played a key role in Villa's campaign so far, where they are currently three points off the top four and in the top eight of the Champions League table.

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"Collectively, we had a really good start to the season," Watkins said on Villa TV. "We had a bit of a blip but we’ve come out of that now, and we’re onwards and upwards, focusing on what’s next and trying to challenge for the top four. Making sure we’re in the Champions League next year.

"And personally, it’s been a stop-start season for me, obviously coming back late from the Euros and not finding my rhythm. So, it’s been tough, I’m not going to lie, but I’ll keep going."

Villa host Man City on Saturday looking to win three league matches in a row at home for the first time since a run of 15 between March and December 2023.

"I feel like since the boss has come in, we’ve made it a little bit of a fortress," Watkins said. "Going 15 games (last season) was amazing, so we know what we’re capable of.

"Hopefully we can do that again. Being at home, you want it to be a bit of a fortress, have that home support, make it a tough place for away teams to go. Like I said, we’ve done that in previous seasons. But even when you can’t win, just not losing, picking up points."

Watkins added: "Obviously, a big team coming to Villa Park, we’ve got a really good home record and last year when we played them, it was a great week for us, as a team and as a club. Hopefully we can repeat that."

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