Tim Sherwood: 'Aston Villa's flair players must toughen up for Premier League'

Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has suggested that his side's flair players must be prepared for the physicality of the Premier League.

The 46-year-old signed seven players from abroad this summer, including forwards Jordan Ayew and Adama Traore, and the Villa manager believes that his new recruits must get used to body contact in English football.

"You can't cry about it," Sherwood told the Birmingham Mail. "The boys certainly can't anyway.

"I can maybe cry about it and get them a bit more protection but the refs need to keep an eye out for that. We're not the only club with flair players around the Premier League. Sometimes the only way to stop them is to do it outside the laws of the game.

"Certainly when they're coming in from different leagues, this is the most physical league in the world so I think they need to get used to that body contact."

Villa will take on Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.