Steve Bruce eyeing 'huge week' in Championship following Carabao Cup exit
Boss Steve Bruce turned his attentions toward a “huge week” in Villa’s Championship campaign after watching them exit the Carabao Cup to Middlesbrough.
Bruce made wholesale changes to his team for last night’s third round tie at Villa Park, which was won 2-0 by the visitors courtesy of Patrick Bamford’s second half double.
Villa, who won just their second league campaign at Barnsley last weekend, now host Nottingham Forest on Saturday and face Burton and Bolton before the month is out.
Bruce said: “We are all disappointed to have gone out of the cup. But we all know what my remit is.
“We all know we have a huge week. That is why I left out the 11 players who were at Barnsley, left them alone.
“My job is to prepare them all week now for the weekend and the week we have coming up before the next international break. It’s a big week coming up.
“We have three games next week and it is all to play for. We know where we have got to be, we have got to be mounting a challenge for promotion.”
Just 11,197 supporters, one of the lowest attendances of the last three decades, were present at Villa Park to watch Boro progress to the fourth round.
Bamford opened the scoring in the 58th minute with a penalty which saw Villa skipper for the night Tommy Elphick sent-off after receiving a second yellow card. The former Chelsea striker then got his second with a header nine minutes later.
Elphick had also seen an early effort ruled out by an offside flag and Bruce said: “He was a yard onside, as far as I can see. The assistant is looking straight at it and chalks it off.
“The penalty was the turning point of the game. Tommy has got himself in a poor position, doesn’t need to go to ground.
“You could say it wasn’t the best of evenings, that is for sure.
“We have now got ten men, they score the penalty and it becomes very difficult against a decent side.”
