Spink backs Sherwood to bring best out of Benteke

Former Aston Villa goalkeeper Nigel Spink believes Tim Sherwood’s appointment could see a change in fortunes for Christian Benteke.

Aston Villa legend Nigel Spink believes striker Christian Benteke could be revitalised under the guidance of Tim Sherwood.

Former Tottenham boss Sherwood was appointed as the successor to Paul Lambert last weekend and takes charge of his first game on Saturday when Villa host Stoke City in the Premier League.

Villa’s poor form in front of goal – they have scored just 12 goals in 25 league games this season – has been highlighted by the fortunes of Benteke, who has two goals in 16 outings.

In his time at Spurs, Sherwood brought the best out of Emmanuel Adebayor and Spink feels he can have the same impact on Benteke as Villa look to climb away from their perilous position in the bottom three.

“Getting Christian Benteke back scoring goals is going to be so important,” Spink, who spent almost 20 years as a player at Villa Park and won the European Cup in 1982, told Perform.

“Getting his confidence levels back up. In Tim’s short experience of managing in the Premier League we’ve seen him get an effect out of Adebayor, which must go down as a real plus for the Benteke situation.

“It is difficult to tell how good this squad can be and how far they can reach because they have changed their playing style.

“They needed to get some adventure back into their play. I think that will be Tim’s brief and I think he will do that.

“I think we are going to know in the next few games which direction it’s going to go in. They are in the dogfight, but they are not in a situation which they have not been familiar with, which is a plus because they have been in the bottom three in the last couple of seasons and they do know what it takes to get out of that.

“I think Tim will get an initial reaction and if we can continue that, then that will give us results.”