‘Start with numbers’ says manager as he demands more from Aston Villa star

Aston Villa’s right-back has come in for some light-hearted criticism from his manager at international level.

Matty Cash has been in the spotlight recently, not only as a Villa player but also for his national team. He was the player who finally netted Villa’s first goal of the season, smashing in the opener against Sunderland last Sunday after scoring two crucial goals for Poland in the September international break.

But there’s always room for improvement and Polish national team manager Jan Urban knows exactly what he wants Cash to do to improve his contribution to the team.

Speaking to Prawda Futbolu (via meczyki.pl), the former Osasuna boss discussed Cash’s language skills and their importance for communication within the national team set-up.

“He’s a very positive person,” said Urban.

“We’ll talk to him about it. It would be great if he knew these basic things about football, about the pitch. It’s up to him. He definitely needs to try a little harder.

“We had a bit of a laugh about it recently. I once told him to count passes to 20. And he started counting [in Polish]. He’s already created a good atmosphere. He needs to try a little harder and start with numbers, figures, etc.”

Urban’s friendly dig at Cash comes with a serious side. As an footballer representing Poland, the ability to communicate effectively with his teammates and the national team’s coaching staff about tactics and instructions would be a great way to boost performance levels on international duty.

The matter of Cash’s linguistic skills has come up before. His father, former Halesowen Town and Chesterfield player Stuart, said soon after the Villa right-back switched to Poland that it was doubtful that he could fully interact with the team without learning the language.

Cash is learning the language

The Villa man, who joined the club from Stuart’s former club Nottingham Forest five years ago, has been working on learning Polish and has reportedly tried to pick up the national anthem by watching videos on YouTube.

Cash acquired a Polish passport and citizenship in order to start playing for Poland in 2021, making his international debut against Andorra in a World Cup qualifier in November that year.

The Slough-born right-back quickly established himself in the side and helped Poland to qualify for the World Cup in 2022. He was named in the squad and featured in all four of their games in Qatar, but didn’t make the cut for EURO 2024 under new coach Michał Probierz.

The former midfielder brought Cash back into the fold in March before a bust-up with Robert Lewandowski led to his resignation in the summer. In total, Cash has scored an impressive four goals in 21 senior international appearances.

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