Blog: Confidence breeds confidence

Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa face a Sunderland team that has the somewhat-less-than-glamorous record of drawing the most games in the Premier League. Had Paul Lambert still been in charge, there would have been a high probability that this game would have ended up another dull 0-0.

To Sherwood's credit, he has got Villa attacking more, leading to more chances and more goals. In entirely simplistic terms, many will be asking why his predecessor didn't assume such a mentality given the obvious benefits, but the reality is slightly more nuanced.

Sherwood's mentality certainly has the potential to create more goals, but it also introduces risk if players aren't able to get back and cover when countered. Against Sunderland - a team likely to line up with two up front and four in the middle, Villa may well have the edge as they are, arguably, better man for man than the Black Cats.

Where Villa may struggle in future are against teams that play five in the middle given that the Villans have historically had issues with finding passes in tightly contested midfield battles. Villa could, of course, decide to put three in midfield - perhaps having Gabby Agbonlahor coming deep whilst Christian Benteke stays up - but fans may well see this as yet another example of overly cautious tactics.

If Villa can manage to pick up three points - and there is certainly the potential there - there may be a growing belief that the team can survive. Whilst Villa have never been dead and buried in points terms, it would have been hard to imply that Lambert's final season was, if nothing else, tiresome and boring.

What Villa need now is the chance to build confidence. In terms of leading from the top, Sherwood certainly seems to be making the right noises, although there is plenty of potential for egg on his face if he doesn't deliver the style he quite brashly proposes.

Sherwood's Villa are still finding their feet, but points against Sunderland may go some what to validating the board's decision to change manager mid-season for the first time under a notoriously patient Randy Lerner.

Villa can survive, but it will need to mean games like the one at the weekend are won. If not, the club may well struggle as next month's fixtures are far more likely to yield a lower points total than recent games.

You can follow Matt Turvey's regular opinions at his own site, Aston Villa Life at http://www.astonvillalife.com, via the site's Twitter account @astonvillalife, or via his own Twitter account @mturvey_star.