Sorensen refuses to use Mellberg absence as excuse
Thomas Sorensen insists Aston Villa cannot blame the absence of injured skipper Olof Mellberg for their capitulation to Manchester United at the weekend.
The Denmark goalkeeper also admitted Villa’s alarming drop in form compared to their previous four league games was “something we need to talk about.”
The Red Devils won 2-0 without moving out of second gear against a Villa side which seemed content to concentrate on a damage limitation exercise.
But Sorensen insisted the loss of centre-back Mellberg with a hamstring problem is not a sufficient reason for Villa’s fall in standards which leaves them hovering just above the relegation zone.
Sorensen told PA Sport: “What happened on Saturday is what we have talked about before in that we play a few good games and then we have a game where inexplicably we drop way below standard.
“You can have small dips in form but not a dip like against Manchester United on Saturday and that is something we need to talk about.
“We gave players like (Ryan) Giggs, (Wayne) Rooney and (Paul) Scholes too much space and if you give them the space, they can create the chances and they did. They could have scored more goals.
“We had Olof Mellberg out and he has been playing really well and is important to us – but you have to deal with that. Other teams will have the same situation crop up and you can’t dip like we did if one player is missing.
“I wouldn’t make that the reason. He is obviously a key player but we know he is going to be out for a few games and we have to regroup and get it sorted.”
