Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins: I was ‘fuming’ over PSG benching

Recalled Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins took out his anger on Newcastle United on Saturday with a dazzling display in his side’s 4-1 victory in the Premier League.

Watkins scored inside the opening minute, was twice denied by the woodwork in the first half and then set up team mate Ian Maatsen to restore Villa’s lead in a rampant second half.

Villa’s emphatic win lifted them into sixth place and right in to the mix for Champions League qualification.

It was quite a statement from Watkins after the England forward had found himself on the bench in five of Villa’s last six games, including both legs of the Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain, with manager Unai Emery opting for on-loan forward Marcus Rashford instead.

Watkins, whose deflected shot after 33 seconds was his 74th Premier League goal for Villa — a joint club record — admitted he had been left fuming after losing his place.

“So I think the manager’s got a little bit of a headache because I’m banging on his door saying why am I not playing,” former Brentford striker Watkins told Sky Sports.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard graft the last few years to get to that position. And obviously I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games. I’m not going to lie. I was fuming I wasn’t playing and I let him know that.

“But he’s the manager at the end of the day and you’ve got to respect his decision, but I’m not one of those players that’s happy to sit on the bench.”

Watkins has scored 15 Premier League goals this season, more than any other English player, and his omission will not have gone unnoticed by clubs keen to sign the 29-year-old.

Asked about his demotion to the bench, Watkins added: “I think it’s something I haven’t experienced before, and then obviously to miss out on the biggest stage, you always want to be playing, especially in the Champions League,” he said.

“I think me and a few others were disappointed that we didn’t start the game. We did end up beating [PSG] but obviously not, not across both legs. The team played really well but I wanted to be out on the pitch much longer.

“I wanted to be starting in the important games, because I’ve played a big part to get to where we are today.”

Villa go to Manchester City on Tuesday where Watkins will expect to start and move past Gabriel Agbonlahor as the club’s leading all-time scorer in the Premier League.

“I’d set my eyes on that target since when I signed for the club and I’m not far away now,” he said.