Tyrone Mings believes Aston Villa’s crunch Champions League meeting with Celtic has the makings of “a classic” and said they must not allow the 1-0 defeat in Monaco on Tuesday to dampen their belief.
Unai Emery questioned the mentality of some of his players after Villa slipped to their second European defeat of the season against the Ligue 1 side.
Mings has insisted Villa must swallow the disappointment when they return to Premier League action at home against West Ham on Sunday. Villa then host Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic next Wednesday.
Asked about the so-called Battle of Britain at Villa Park, Mings replied: “We deal with pressure and big games all the time, and that’s a game that will hopefully be a classic for the right reasons.
“We’ll give everything to come out on the right side of it. We know it’ll be a tough game but everything now is gearing up for West Ham, a difficult game for different reasons.”
Emery intimated Villa had blown the chance to finish in the top eight and qualify automatically for the last 16 after Wilfried Singo’s winner in Monaco, but it remains mathematically possible.
“It’s one we’re really looking forward to,” Mings said. “We can’t let anything affect our mood. I think if we win, draw or lose we have to be exactly the same with the level of focus going into the next game.”
Mings has started Villa’s past five matches after returning from a serious knee injury in October. The 31-year-old’s second anterior cruciate ligament injury put him out of action for 445 days and he doubted whether he would play again.
“I’m feeling good, I’ve probably surprised myself and a few of the medical staff in terms of how I’ve coped with the games we’ve played so far. We prepare well, we have great nutrition and we have great recovery strategies so I’m just focused on staying fit, playing well and contributing to what can hopefully be a good second half of the season.”
