Villa must express themselves

Cape Town - Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has slammed his team's "boring" style of play and urged them to express themselves more on the pitch.

Villa have failed to win since beating promoted Bournemouth on the opening weekend and are second from bottom in the Premier League following a run of seven defeats in eight matches.

No team has lost more league games than Sherwood's men and the pressure is mounting on the former Tottenham Hotspur boss.

Prior to Saturday's 2-0 loss to a struggling Chelsea, there were reports that Sherwood's job was under threat after the club's American owner Randy Lerner had met Villa officials in the United States.

Sherwood also believes his team have struggled to express themselves due to their fear of losing.

"I'm trying to instil into them not to be scared to lose. If anyone should be scared to lose, it should be me," Sherwood told the club's website (www.avfc.co.uk).

"I'm not and I want them to go out on the front foot. In the last few weeks it's been boring, I've been bored of watching it to be perfectly honest, going square and sideways. I'm not telling them to do that.

"I'm telling them to express themselves and if they get beat, they get beat having a go - passing the ball forward," the 46-year-old Englishman added.

Villa welcome 13th-place Swansea City, who have gone four games without a league victory, on Saturday.