Jack Grealish reckons he will flourish under Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood as he targets survival.
The midfielder made his first league start for Villa in Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with relegation rivals Queens Park Rangers.
Grealish struggled for game time under ex-coach Paul Lambert but Sherwood put his faith in the 19-year-old in their crunch Premier League clash against QPR.
Sherwood nurtured Harry Kane while Tottenham Hotspur manager last season, with Kane now the top flight’s joint top scorer with 19 goals, and Grealish hopes the Villa chief can aid his own career.
“You can see what he did at Tottenham with the young lads, bringing them through. He is a great guy,” he said.
“Playing my first game is probably the highlight of my career at the moment. To start for my boyhood club was a dream come true. I thank the gaffer for it. I hope towards the end of the season I can play more of a part and help the team stay in the division.
“He’s given me my first start in a crucial game which I’m really grateful for. When you’re not playing you get down, that’s football, you have to stay positive and good things come your way.
“He’s done little stuff like bring the younger lads to come and train next to the first team, which is so little but means so much to the younger lads. He’s so positive around the place, gives everyone a boost which you can see in people’s performances.”
Villa go to Tottenham on Saturday three points above the Premier League relegation zone following Christian Benteke’s hat-trick against QPR.
The striker has scored seven goals in seven games under Sherwood, who replaced Lambert in February, and Grealish said Benteke highlights Villa’s new-found belief.
He said: “The positivity around the training ground is brilliant for the gaffer and brilliant for us. It really helps on matchday. Hopefully that will come into play towards the end of the season.
“Tim Sherwood gives every player a huge boost of confidence and you could see that with players like Christian and even myself. I feel I can contribute towards the end of the season and play better.
“When you have Christian in the team who can score goals every game. We are going to go in to Saturday’s game and be positive and 100 per cent we will stay up.
“We see that every day in training and we know what Christian is capable of. He has gone out there and done what we see every day.”
Villa now face Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final next Sunday after Brendan Rodgers’s men won 1-0 at Blackburn on Wednesday and Grealish wants to cement himself into the side for Wembley.
He added: “It would be brilliant to stay in the team for Wembley but at the end of the day the gaffer will pick a team who he thinks will win. I go with the flow. I feel I have more of a chance playing under Tim Sherwood.”
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