Ollie Watkins reveals advice from former England star during 'toughest' Aston Villa moment

Ollie Watkins has revealed how former England striker Michael Owen is helping him through the toughest season of his career at Villa.

The 30-year-old explained how Owen had told him to “play angry” if he wanted to recover top form - conceding he is sometimes guilty of being “too nice”.

Watkins has scored just 12 goals in 44 appearances for Villa in a campaign he says has been the hardest he’s known.

But the former Brentford man has shown signs of a renaissance in recent weeks, scoring four goals in his last five appearances including two in Thursday’s 3-1 Europa League win over Bologna.

The brace moved Watkins on to 99 career Villa goals heading into Sunday’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest.

Speaking to the Football Interview on the BBC, he said: “The toughest moment for me, throughout my career, has been this season.

“I have not been at the level I wanted to. Learning to deal with that is hard.

“Look, it can always change. There can be a game where you go and score three goals and everyone talks about you, saying oh he is back in form, things like that.

“But that change of not being at the level you want to be, this year has been difficult.

“I always have faith in my ability and I work so hard, I know I can get back to the levels I have achieved in previous seasons.”

Watkins is Villa’s all-time Premier League top scorer and is on course to top the club’s scoring charts for the sixth straight season.

And he revealed how he sought out Owen for advice, after connecting with the former Liverpool and Real Madrid frontman on social media.

Owen scored more than 260 goals for club and country during his career and Watkins said: “I have a lot of good people around me. I have spoken to a lot of players. I speak to Michael Owen quite a bit.

“It can be easy to speak to friends when they come and watch you.

“But they have a biased opinion. Someone like Michael Owen, who has played the game and hit levels I have not achieved, can know how I am thinking, seeing from afar and giving advice, is always nice.

“We had a chat. He said he feels like when I play angry and am a nuisance, that is when I am at my best. So just try to bring that to the table as much as possible.”

He continued: “I feel like sometimes I am too nice. My dad used to say to me when I was younger, you need to play angry.

“But I could not just do it. There will be days when you wake up and just have that feeling. But I am just a nice, honest player.”

Watkins also thanked Villa boss Unai Emery for keeping faith during his struggles this term.

He said: “The manager has a lot of faith in me. There will be times when I have not scored and he will keep picking me because he believes in me and knows, even if I am not bringing goals to the table, I will keep working hard and doing my job.”