Exclusive – Former Aston Villa striker lauds Tim Sherwood for bringing back ‘genius’ club legend

Ex-Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin has lauded manager Tim Sherwood for his decision to bring Stiliyan Petrov back to the club in a coaching role.

Fan favourite Petrov made 186 appearances for the Villans between 2006 and 2012, before being forced into an early retirement following a battle with leukaemia and earlier this week Sherwood announced that the former midfielder would be joining his coaching team.

When asked about the Bulgarian’s return to Villa Park, Dublin said: “He’s absolutely buzzing and I think Tim [Sherwood] and Villa couldn’t have employed anybody better, he’s an absolute genius at what he does”.

And Dublin was also extremely positive about ex-Spurs manager Sherwood’s prospects with the West Midlands club following a midweek victory over rivals West Brom.

He added: “If anybody is going to encourage Villa to go forward with a positive mind, with a winner’s mentality, you’ll do well to find anyone more positive than Tim Sherwood”.