Not a hopeless case: Club heroes say optimism is high at Newcastle and Aston Villa despite relegation from Premier League

Aston Villa and Newcastle United have cause for optimism as the season draws to a close, according to two former stars of the relegated teams.

Speaking on the sidelines of the HKFC Soccer Sevens, which wrapped up on Sunday night, Aston Villa assistant manager Gordon Cowans and Newcastle under-21 manager Peter Beardsley said they were confident next season would see improvement in their clubs’ fortunes.

“Everybody’s obviously down. We’ve been through a horrible period over the last five years,” he said. “This has been coming on for years and it should have been addressed better, but it hasn’t and that’s the case.

“The good thing is some of these kids might get a chance. Over the last few seasons one or two have been thrown in but we just tended to keep going out and getting other players – mainly foreigners and people who the club means nothing to them. These lads have hunger for the club and a bit of fight and desire to get to where they want to be.”

Cowans believes that relegation to the Championship for managerless Villa next season would see some of the club’s youngsters being given opportunities.

“I think it will give an opportunity for some of the younger players because [the Championship] is a physical place to be playing but if you can get some of them in and get the experience of playing at that level, then they’ll develop quicker. We’ll just have to wait and see who the new manager’s going to be.”