Tyrone Mings discusses going from the Championship to the Champions League quarters with Villa 🔥

Tyrone Ming's out to join us here. Congratulations, Tyrone. We just heard from John McGinn at the end there saying that you were having a chat, saying you've gone from the championship to the quarterfinals of the Champions League now with Aston Villa. How does that feel? Yeah, it's good. I mean, tough to put into words because I'm sure these guys will know when you're in it, it's hard to take it in, isn't it? It's hard to appreciate the level that we're now playing at and the bar keeps raising, the expectations keep going up, the level of performance has to keep going up and we have to keep being demanding. So, yeah, championship feels like a long time ago now, doesn't it? I wish I was still here with you! But I'm really enjoying the journey. So Tyrone, sorry Lindsay, just talking about the standards going up, how important and pivotal to that are the new signings? Like Asensio has had a huge impact today, but also Marcus Rashford. Yeah, I mean, it's important for them to come in and buy into what we're doing and to bring the skill set that they have and show that on the pitch. I mean, they come with a big reputation, they come with great experience, but for them to come in, hit the ground running, buy into the group and show their quality game in, game out, kind of right from the start has been so impressive and probably a testament to them and the group for helping them settle in, I guess. Ty, how did the manager want you to approach this? Because it looked in the first half you were a little bit more off it in your blocks, but the second half you really kind of opened up. I know they had a man sent off, but was that the game plan originally? Well, first of all, we don't get somebody sent off because the manager spoke about experience and how things can change and a goal can change things. And it was about controlling our emotions. We didn't get it right in the first half, really. The press didn't control the game on the ball either. But as we were saying at halftime, when things like that are happening, it's important to stay calm when you're not doing things right and you're a little bit off the press and you're pressing at the wrong times. It's important to stay calm and to try and figure it out at halftime. There's no point doing one or the other or getting caught in between and giving them opportunities, because I think that's what they're waiting for. So who is it you're talking about saying stay calm? Who is it in the changing room? Is that me? Is that you? We were talking about maybe the manager's experience as well. It's something you guys lean on and look to in the moments where things might not be going perfectly well, but his experience and what he's done settles the group down. Absolutely. His experience is so valuable. And the kind of anecdotes he gives us about being winning and being up in the first leg and losing it and all those things are so important to give us a reality check about how much work is still to be done. But I think it's so important to have people on the pitch. And we do have that that can make decisions, because sometimes things aren't going according to plan and sometimes things aren't going according to the game plan. And you have to make a decision or make decisions as players as as to what you think is right in that moment and what the game demands. It's all well and good having a game plan, but sometimes you need to play what the game requires. And I think we did that today. Tyrone, I have to ask you, did you watch the Liverpool PSG game last night? Yeah, of course. What else was I meant to be doing? How big is the challenge going to be then up against the likes of Dembele, Barcola, Correcchiella? What are you expecting after seeing that? A very tough game. But listen, we're so excited. Every game that we play now comes with its own challenges. We're playing in, I think, the toughest league in the world, which means that every week we have to treat teams with an equal level of respect. But when it comes to the Champions League, we'll go there and give a good account of ourselves. And listen, we're trying to win over two legs. So we'll go there and enjoy every moment. But we've got a lot of firepower and a lot of quality in our team as well. So I'm sure it'll be a good game. And knowing the manager, as you do, how much is he going to love that tactical battle? Is he already going to be thinking about it now? Oh, absolutely. I mean, maybe not. I think he's reinforcing at the moment how important Preston away is our next game in the FA Cup. Professionalism. Yeah, absolutely. He's very much one game at a time. He spoke after the game then, which he doesn't usually do, just to say congratulations. And we should be enjoying what we've achieved tonight and over the past few months. But he also reiterated that the last two months of the season have to be our best. Can I just ask you quickly to interrupt you there? When he says enjoy tonight, to me and Al, that was like a laugh and not a howl. Don't bring me into that. That's a few fears and not a howl. Don't start. What's that enjoying a night like tonight for the current Copper players in today's game? Well, we've got a few days off, so we probably won't see each other. We'll probably just go our separate ways. There'll be no celebrating, really. And also, I know we've got through and stuff, but it really doesn't feel like we've achieved what we want to achieve this season. So, yeah, we can enjoy it by knowing that we've had a good two legs and knowing that we've got through to the next round. But again, we've still got such big challenges to come that I don't think there'll be too much excess. Are yous very much like the manager, where it's each game at a time? Or is there word spoken in that changing room where you're looking at the bigger picture? What you can achieve in terms of the effort, the challenges? I think we have different characters. Some that love to dream about winning, naturally in winning cups and stuff. Some that are a little more pragmatic and take it game by game. I'm very much in the second camp. But listen, it's good to dream and it's good to have aspirations. We obviously have the goals and achievements that we want to achieve in-house and we speak about it all the time. But there's no point worrying about that without the second train of thought, which is you have to take each game as it comes and play what is in front of you. It's going to be really hard not to get overly excited about this quarter finally. Is the Premier League and that position in the Premier League where you finish still the priority? Yeah, very much so. I think it's very important that we do absolutely everything to qualify for the Champions League again next year, which means that you either win the Champions League or finish fourth or fifth in the Premier League. The manager is very focused on consistency over 38 games, gets you into fourth, gets you into fifth. So that is always our priority. The priority is usually over 38 games of the season, you end up where you deserve to end up. There's obviously ups and downs throughout that season, but 38 games, usually the table doesn't lie at the end of it. Our goal is definitely to try and qualify for the Champions League again and to show a level of consistency in the Premier League that we maybe haven't yet found. We'd better let you go. Thank you very much. It's absolutely freezing out here. Go and enjoy your little break.