Intro:

Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood spoke to the media on Thursday (26th February), ahead of Saturday's English Premier League trip to Newcastle United.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (English) Tim Sherwood, Aston Villa manager:
"I'm learning all the time about the guys, you know. Obviously I've looked from afar and I've had a few more days on the training field now and you try to pick up the strengths and weaknesses of the players and then you need to make sure you select the right balance to win the football matches."

SOUNDBITE (English) Tim Sherwood, Aston Villa manager:
(Q. After the 2-1 defeat to Stoke City, does the challenge of keeping Villa in the Premier League seem bigger):
"No, I think it was a big challenge anyway, you know, they won five games of football all season, you know, so we need to win six to stay in the division and there's not many games left. Reality has to kick-in that, you know, we're in a dogfight here and we need points as soon as possible. But, like I say, it's a work in progress now and I'm just trying to identify the strengths and weaknesses to the players as quickly as possible and try and put that jigsaw together on a Saturday afternoon to try and win the game."

SOUNDBITE (English) Tim Sherwood, Aston Villa manager:
(Q. When you came here you said you wanted to play attacking football, it doesn't seem like the players have taken that onboard straight away does it?)
"We've had five days training, give us a break."

(Q. Is it going to take time?)
"Of course it's going to take time, you know. I've managed for one game, I've scored one goal, good ratio."

(Q. The problem is you haven't got time, have you, with the number of games left?)
"We've got as much time as we can. You know, whatever time's left we have to get the job done."

SOUNDBITE (English) Tim Sherwood, Aston Villa manager:
(on the trip to Newcastle against a side looking to bounce back from a heavy 5-0 defeat to Manchester City):

"Yeah, you know, it's a tough place to go. It can be tough for the home fans also, for the home players, because the fans there are very intense, you know. They have a lot of expectancy, that's a big club, Newcastle. So, you stay in the game as long as you possibly can and hopefully you get the breaks and be able to win the game."