Yahoo Sport 
Alex Keble
It is a unique quirk of the Football League that a team drowning at the bottom end of the table can, with a single victory, suddenly look like promotion contenders. Aston Villa’s frightening run of four wins in 52 league matches had begun to make Tony Xia’s enormous investment in the club look ill-advised, but a last minute penalty at Reading on Tuesday night handed Steve Bruce his first win in charge – and catapulted Villa to within six points of the play-off places.
Immediate re-entry to the Premier League and its riches remains an achievable, albeit ambitious, aim for their new manager, who inherits a highly talented squad bereft of confidence. There is an awful lot that needs to change at Villa Park, as Bruce was quick to point out after the match. “The players have had a tough time so you’ve just got to try and restore a little bit of belief,” he told reporters. “We haven’t done a lot but we’ll get stuck into them over the next few weeks and months.”
Grabbing Villa’s first three points on the road for 14 months is a pretty good start but there is an awful lot of work to be done. Here are three things that Bruce needs to change before Villa are ready to challenge for promotion.
1) Repair Villa’s lopsided formation and add strength in central midfield
Roberto di Matteo changed his starting line-up in all but one of his 11 league games in charge and Villa looked understandably confused. There was no coherent long-term strategy developing whilst, alarmingly, Di Matteo tried to simply throw as many forwards onto the pitch as possible. Villa began almost every match in a 4-4-2 shape with a third striker on the right wing.
This inevitably created a top-heavy formation in which Villa’s defenders attempted to pass out patiently from the back but had nobody to pass to. The gap between the three lines was woeful at times.
Bruce has already reduced the number of strikers on the pitch and after a tepid 1-1 draw with Wolves in a 4-4-2 formation reverted to a 4-5-1 at Reading. A more coherent strategy, that involves fewer forwards and more bodies in central midfield, is essential for Villa. The fans have long been calling for Ashley Westwood to be dropped and so Bruce’s experiments without him suggest he has a good handle on where Villa’s flaws lie.
2) Instil a coherent vision based on direct, attacking football
Steve Bruce teams generally play in an aggressive and direct style that looks to release the ball quickly into the channels. At Hull City, his full-backs were often the most important players in a long-ball system. This is exactly what Villa need after the awkward possession-based philosophy of his predecessor.
Without a pre-season to impart his wisdom on these players, Bruce needs to play the percentages and get Villa back into the goalscoring groove; with so many talented forwards but a notable weakness in midfield (see above), a direct strategy makes a lot of sense.
There are signs that Bruce has already told his players to get the ball forward quicker. Villa have averaged 38% possession in their last two matches, down from 52% before Bruce’s arrival, and this change should work well for such a physically powerful team. The likes of Leandro Bacuna, Jordan Ayew, Rudy Gestede, Mile Jedinak, and Micah Richards would all benefit from a system that maximises set-pieces and aerial duels.
What’s more, this sort of approach is also considerably more effective than short-passing tactics when in a rut, because hesitancy and low self-confidence inevitably disrupt intricate build-up play. After all, it is raising the mood that represents Bruce’s most immediate challenge…
3) Utilise leaders in the squad to breathe new confidence into the players
Villa have actually come very close to being a good team this season, but with a losing mentality suffocating B6 since 2011 they simply could not get over the line. Villa have conceded crucial goals in the 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th, and 90th minutes this season.
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how to reinvigorate these players and build their self-esteem (aside from grabbing late, scrappy wins like the one at Reading on Tuesday night) but two obvious weapons at Bruce’s disposal are Jedinak and Tommy Elphick.
These two are natural leaders and in the right environment are exactly the kinds of players who can lift the atmosphere in the dressing room to inspire their team-mates to victory. Both have enjoyed promotions from the Championship in the past, and this expertise should bring a controlling influence on the pitch. Neither has had a particularly successful start to life in Birmingham, although there is still plenty of time for both players to turn their seasons around.
A potential eight figure financial black hole awaits the club should they fail to bounce back at the first attempt, so Villa’s new owner Tony Xia, who spent £50 million on new recruits in the summer, will not give Bruce any time to settle. His ruthless sacking of Di Matteo just 12 games into the job was a sign that the Chinese businessman will not tolerate a slow start. There is enough talent at Villa Park to achieve his aims – but the task facing Bruce remains a daunting one.
