Analysis: Alarm bells ringing after Aston Villa suffer nightmare before Christmas

To call it a nightmare before Christmas might be an understatement. It is difficult to imagine quite how things could have panned out worse for Dean Smith and his team as they slumped to a fourth straight Premier League defeat.

A day which was supposed to mark the start of a resurgence after a tough run of fixtures, instead ended with Villa in the relegation zone having been beaten with alarming ease by one of their rivals in a relegation dogfight in which they are now unquestionably participants.

It is a battle they must face for at least two months without John McGinn, the Scot having suffered a broken ankle in the opening minutes of the match.

Damaging as the result was for Villa, the loss of such an influential player – for such an extended period – is an even more devastating blow.

The club will have no option but to try and source a replacement in next month’s transfer window, but there are some huge matches to come before then. For now the onus must be on others to step up and fill the breach.

Yet on Saturday’s evidence, it feels fair to question just how many of McGinn’s team-mates are up for the challenge which lies ahead of them?

Southampton are not a particularly good team but have spent the season scrapping near the foot of the table and their hunger and desire was obvious from the first whistle. Villa, by contrast, completely failed to answer the bell.

There are undoubtedly issues with how the team is currently being organised which need to be addressed. But even the great teams are built on a foundation of hard work and Villa, for whatever reason, are currently doing nowhere near enough.

Jack Grealish was, perhaps, the honourable exception against the Saints and Villa’s skipper provided the home team’s only bright spot with another picture book goal, yet by then the match was already lost with Jack Stephens and a Danny Ings double having put the visitors in control.

Villa, again missing the influence of Tyrone Mings in defence, appeared utterly rudderless. Less than a fortnight after being ripped to shreds by Leicester City, they were again cut open with disturbing ease, only this time by an opponent of notably lesser quality.

Players who shone in the early weeks of the season, such as Bjorn Engels, are now beginning to fade alarmingly as the demands of a relentlessly tough division begin to take their toll.

The Belgium international was comfortably outpaced by Shane Long in the build-up to the Saints opener, yet he is far from the club’s only summer signing who must prove they have what it takes to perform consistently in the Premier League.

Smith’s post-match message to his players called for a period of introspection. That must also apply to the head coach himself, for we have surely now reached the point where he must acknowledge the current set-up is not working. In truth, it hasn’t for several weeks.

His team are too open, too easy to score against and the statistics are damning. Villa have now conceded at least twice in eight of their last nine Premier League matches. With Wesley still struggling to provide a consistent goal threat at the other end of the pitch, it is a recipe for disaster.

Grealish, meanwhile, has become increasingly isolated out on the left wing, with opponents finding him far easier to contain. True, some might point to the fact the 24-year-old has now scored five goals in his last nine top flight appearances. Yet his all-round contribution to the team still feels reduced and with McGinn now sidelined, Grealish’s energy and running are needed in the middle of the park.

The situation is far from beyond salvageable. Villa will quickly get a chance to improve the outlook when they host Norwich and then travel to Watford before the week is out, though it will require vastly-improved performances in what are now two high-pressure games.

At the very least they cannot afford to let the gap between themselves and safety grow any larger before the start of January, when the reinforcements it is now obvious are needed in midfield and attack can be sought.

By then Mings might also have returned to inject leadership into a team which, without him or McGinn, is sorely lacking it.

Grealish aside, the biggest rallying cry on Saturday came from goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who while a Southampton player received treatment during the first half, came racing out of his goal and into the opposition half to offer encouragement to Wesley. That in itself speaks volumes.

Heaton, of course, has plenty of top flight experience yet the same cannot be said for most of his team-mates. Villa’s decision to recruit so many Premier League rookies is starting to come under ever greater scrutiny.

Those supporters searching for a crumb of comfort might reflect on the fact it is barely 10 months since Villa were booed off having lost 2-0 at home to Albion, thanks to a performance similarly shambolic to that witnessed on Saturday.

Back then it was becoming difficult to see how Smith could turn things around. Just 13 weeks later he was leading the club to promotion at Wembley.

The head coach’s track record of finding his way out of trouble means for now supporters and decision makers retain faith he will do so again. Only this time, the stakes are that much higher.