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da luck： If you told Aston Villa fans earlier in the season that the club would enjoy a ten game-winning run with Mile Jedinak at centre half they’d have probably laughed.
However, that’s the reality of the situation at the club in what has been a remarkable turn around under Dean Smith.
The former Brentford boss has worked wonders with Villa since arriving in the Midlands and his tactical gamble to start playing Jedinak in defence has paid off impressively.
Given the Australian is a midfielder, it’s an unfamiliar role to him but with suspension for Tyrone Mings and then another injury for Axel Tuanzebe in recent matches, Jedinak has stepped in and performed admirably.
On the chalkboard
Villa have had their fair share of injuries this season and to lose Tuanzebe for such a long period of time was a concern.
However, with the Manchester United loanee now back in contention, Jedinak has still been able to make an impact in defence. As a result, he simply has to keep his place for the trip to Leeds this weekend.
Jedinak was in superb form against Millwall last weekend and although Marcelo Bielsa’s side will pose a completely different and better threat, he has more than shown himself capable in a deeper role.
Steve Bruce started to play the Australian international at centre half at the beginning of the season but it was a decision that ultimately didn’t pay off.
The player was slated as a result but now he’s completely transformed himself and Smith deserves huge praise for trusting in him with absences elsewhere.
In truth, the Villa manager hasn’t had much choice, but in gambling on the midfielder to play further back they’ve still been able to maintain their incredibly impressive play-off charge.
If the Villa Park faithful were unsure of his defensive capabilities, then the 7.2 aerial duels he’s won per game should do more than enough to convince.
One of Jedinak’s most impressive aspects is his reading of the game and he’s been able to transfer that into defence too.
With essentially two meaningless matches before the play-offs, it’s the ideal time for Smith to continue with his experiment.