Aston Villa news: "Cut down those mistakes" - Verdict emerges on £80k p/w key figure | OneFootball

Journalist Luke Hatfield said that Tyrone Mings must start reducing the number of mistakes he makes.

Hatfield recognises that defensive errors from a centre-back are often punished and result in goals but believes that the 28-year-old must fix up and lead by example.

What's the latest news with Mings?

Aston Villa overall are enjoying a decent campaign despite suffering three defeats from their first seven matches.

Defensively, Dean Smith's side have been inconsistent, though, conceding nine times, although they've travelled to Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham already.

According to WhoScored, Mings has been Villa's best defender this season with an average rating of 6.92, marginally better than fellow centre-backs Kortney Hause (6.89) and Ezri Konsa (6.77).

That rating would have been far better had Mings not made a costly error against Chelsea last month when his under hit back pass allowed midfielder Mateo Kovacic to nip in and round Jed Steer before doubling the Blues' advantage.

Mings, who reportedly earns £80,000-per-week, hasn't made any other glaring mistakes this term, but he was involved in a similar incident against Fulham in April when another poorly attempted back pass was capitalised on by Aleksander Mitrovic, who rounded Emiliano Martinez and tapped home.

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He apologised on Twitter for his mistake against Chelsea and Hatfield has urged the England defender to cut out those errors.

What did Hatfield say?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "I think the next step for him is to try and cut down those mistakes, maybe make one or two a season, one or two every couple of seasons.

"But it's a tough one, if you're a centre-back and you make a mistake in that part of the pitch, like a goalkeeper, it more often than not results in a goal, so it's a tough position to play in."

Could Mings get dropped?

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Despite a shaky start to the season, Mings' place in the side is far from under threat. He's an England international, the captain of the club and the senior figure in Villa's defence.

But whilst he's unlikely to be dropped any time soon, he needs to step up and start setting an example to others around him, especially playing alongside the likes of Hause and Konsa, who're 26 and just 23 respectively.

Mings has looked much better in recent weeks, keeping out both Everton and Manchester United notably, but he must keep up that form if the club want to be European contenders.