Saturday 13 August 2016 21:58, UK
Roberto Di Matteo was delighted his players got to enjoy that winning feeling again as they got their Sky Bet Championship season up and running with a 3-0 defeat of Rotherham.
It had been 190 days of hurt for Villa, who suffered a dismal relegation from the Premier League last season, since their last win way back on February 6 when they beat Norwich 2-0.
This season under Di Matteo had started inauspiciously after two defeats, including a 3-1 reverse at League Two Luton in the EFL Cup, but they hit the ground running on home soil as Rudy Gestede's double and a late Jack Grealish strike saw off the Millers.
The Italian felt it was important that his men remembered what it felt like to win and hopes that will give them confidence.
"I am not relieved, I am pleased because I could see some positive signs despite the fact we lost the first game," he said.
"I could see we are improving and we will keep improving. Results like this will help. Many of our players haven't had that feeling for a long time, so to have that feeling is very important for the players and the fans.
"We wanted to win our first home game and make Villa Park a difficult place for teams to come. It was important to have a team performance overall and it resulted in a good win.
"You can do everything right on the training pitch but the best recipe for confidence is the result at the end of the week. One result will give us a lot of confidence, so this is the importance of this win."
While Di Matteo enjoyed a first win at the helm, Rotherham boss Alan Stubbs is still waiting for his as his side endured a tough afternoon on their first league visit to Villa Park since 1971.
They contributed to their own downfall with defensive errors, but the former Hibs boss called for some perspective.
"We're always disappointed when we lose, I thought up until the first goal we were in the game," he said.
"Overall we needed to show a little more belief when we had the ball. The first goal was disappointing, it comes from an unforced error and it puts an awful lot of pressure on us.
"I thought the players stuck at it, but it's a long season. We are not going to get too downhearted.
"It showed us that we are up against a team that has significantly more resources than us. They have just paid a record amount of money for one of their strikers [Ross McCormack], we have to be realistic.
"We are not going to get downbeat. We won't be the last team to come here and get beat."
