Tyrone Mings admitted Aston Villa’s defensive effort pleased him more than getting on the scoresheet in Monday night’s 3-0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
While delighted to find the net, the defender was effusive in his praise of his teammates’ work-rate and desire to keep a clean sheet.
The shutout was a continuation of Villa’s defensive improvement, which began at the tail end of last season and has seen them concede only twice in their last six Premier League games.
He said: “After Lockdown, one of the things we prided ourselves on was keeping the ball out of our net and to be hard to beat.
“For me, keeping a clean sheet is the most important thing and I think everybody worked their socks off today.
“As a back four we were hard to beat, but it’s only easy if you’ve got a midfield, strikers and goalkeeper who are also contributing.”
With four wins out of four to start the season, Mings is keen to ensure the team continue their unbeaten run when they face Stoke City in Round Four of the Carabao Cup on Thursday night.
“Every point in this league is so important,” he said.
“We saw what a cup run did for us last season, giving us something else to focus on when we were in a sticky patch in the league.
“Continuing the momentum in the cup on Thursday is important, and we can’t take anything for granted.”
