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As Villa prepare to face PSG in the UEFA Super Cup tomorrow evening, I can’t help feeling disappointed by the situation surrounding Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins, and Emiliano Martinez. UEFA’s official information suggests there are fitness doubts over the players, and if that is genuinely the case, well then I suppose we have to think of their welfare, hmm. Nobody wants players risking injury. However, I have to be honest and say that I remain unconvinced. Villa are about to play in a European final, one of the biggest occasions in our club’s modern history, and the absence of three senior players doesn’t sit well with me. If Villa are playing for a European trophy, I expect every fit player to be doing everything possible to be involved. That’s what representing Aston Villa should mean. I’ve looked back at previous UEFA Super Cups involving English clubs. There have been players who returned late from international tournaments, but I struggled to find another example where a key player, let alone three, are totally absent from the squad. The supporters have spent time, money, and emotion following this club’s journey back to the top table of European football. Nights like these don’t come around often. Of course, if Konsa, Watkins, and Martinez are unavailable for genuine fitness reasons, then that’s football. But at a minimum, they should at least be in the stands supporting their teammates. That would go a long way towards showing that this occasion means as much to them as it does to the supporters. I don’t think I’m being harsh. I think other things are playing out in the background, I let you figure out what. But right now, I can’t shake the feeling that Villa fans are entitled to feel a little bit disrespected. UTV