‘Staggering’ - Micah Richards backchats Wolves claim as Aston Villa lap up plaudits

Micah Richards has backed Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O'Neil after initial doubts from fans and believes Aston Villa are doing an extraordinary job during their injury crisis.

The former England international, who turned out for Manchester City, Fiorentina and Villa throughout his 14-year playing career, has been tracking the progress of the Premier League's West Midlands clubs very closely. Richards speaks about Wolves and Villa regularly on a podcast he co-hosts alongside fellow Match of the Day pundits Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, as he's keen to bring the attention away from the traditional 'big six' clubs.

Analysing Villa during the latest episode of The Rest Is Football published on Monday, February 26, Richards commended Unai Emery for his recent work. "Villa are weird because they’re so good now it’s ridiculous. You know when you want a team to do well but it’s always more hope actually than reality? But the way Unai Emery has them playing is just amazing," Richards said.

“They lost Boubacar Kamara to injury. They brought in Youri Tielemans and so John McGinn dropped back a little deeper. They’ve got a box in midfield that leaves Leon Bailey to do whatever he wants to do and Ollie Watkins is scoring for fun," Richards said with his usual beaming smile.

Richards excited by Wolves soaring up the standings

Then onto Wolves after a narrow 1-0 win over Sheffield United, Richards couldn't contain his excitement about the progress under O'Neil. Lineker got things started by praising the Old Gold for soaring up to eighth in the Premier League. Richards then stepped in, backchatting any previous claims from fans that O'Neil wasn't good enough for the job.

"We keep saying the same things about Gary O’Neil week in, week out. It’s staggering, isn’t it? It just shows [what you can do] when you when someone works hard and gets a chance," Richards said. "They’ve got a plan, implemented it and everyone’s bought into it. You get a bit of momentum and you can see what happens.

“I’m really happy for them because of the stigma against O’Neil and the uncertainty of what was going to happen. A lot of people asked why did he deserve this job and people wanted a bigger name… He’s showing with his quality and ability that he’s doing a brilliant job," Richards continued, supporting the Wanderers boss.