What went wrong for Di Matteo?

Aston Villa have sacked Roberto Di Matteo after just 124 days in charge – but where did it go wrong?

The Italian won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012 but failed to have a positive impact on the Midlands club, following their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.

Di Matteo leaves Villa 19th in the Championship, with just 10 points from 11 games. Here we look at what cost him his job…

Late slips

The 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th and 89th minute. These are the times Villa have let points slip in the Championship this season, dropping nine points in the process.

If they had held on against Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield, Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Barnsley, Roberto Di Matteo would still be in a job, sitting in seventh, a point behind rivals Birmingham City and a play-off spot.

But of course, that counts for little, and genuine questions must be asked of Villa’s mentality.

Against Brentford in particular, with Villa dominating and showing no signs of slipping up, Di Matteo replaced injured striker Ross McCormack with defender Jordan Amavi at half-time, despite having attacking options on the bench. Cue nervousness at Villa Park, and a last-minute equaliser that had been coming.

“When we are going into a lead we are not managing to see it out and it keeps occurring,” the Italian said after the game. “The last 10 minutes were nervous because of that. It is something we need to work through.”

Mentality is often underrated in football, particularly in a division where promotion can hinge on momentum, or in Villa’s case stopping the rot as soon as possible.

It hasn’t happened, this season or last, and the evidence of low morale is clear as day.

Go 1-0 up, and Villa will …

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