Aston Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo has revealed that he felt as though his latest job was like a ‘house needing to be knocked down and started afresh’.
The Italian tactician was appointed as the new Villa manager last month, and has begun the process of preparing the squad for the Championship in the upcoming campaign.
Having endured a miserable year last season which culminated in their relegation from the Premier League, Villa have been rejuvenated this summer with the arrival of new owner Tony Xia and Di Matteo at the helm.
The new regime has wasted little time in improving the squad, with Tommy Elphick, Pierluigi Gollini and Aaron Tshibola all arriving at the club, while other individuals have been shipped out with more activity expected.
Di Matteo has conceded that there is still plenty of work to be done at Villa Park in the coming weeks, but believes that they are making strides in the right direction.
“[It was] a house that needed to be knocked down and start afresh,” Di Matteo told The Guardian. “That’s so far what I have seen.
“You have to kind of sustain a level of performance in the Championship to be able to come out of it at the end of the season.
“By signing three new players, we have already identified players that we believe will help us guide the team into a very challenging season.
“I don’t want to put it into numbers [how many more will arrive]. I’m certainly looking to freshen up the squad [but] I don’t know if it is one more, three more or four more.”
The 46-year-old conceded that last season will have left its mark on players within the squad, but he will hope that it spurs them on in a positive way to make up for the poor campaign.
By rebuilding the spine of the squad and as he tries to implement his own style and ideas on the group of players, he’ll hope that it’s enough to put them in a strong position to compete for promotion and an immediate return to the top flight.