I played for Aston Villa but used to get a taxi to training to avoid abuse from fans

A player has revealed everything he did to avoid fan abuse during Aston Villa’s disastrous 2015/16 campaign.

The former Manchester City defender joined the Villans in the summer of 2015 and captained a relegated Premier League side the following season.

Opening up on the nightmare campaign, which saw the Villains finish last in the league and 22 points from safety, Micah Richards revealed the atmosphere among the fans had reached boiling point.

And the former England international admitted taking extreme measures to avoid a confrontation with angry fans, parking miles away from the club’s training base at the luxury Belfry Hotel.

Speaking to Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer about the Match of the Day Top 10, he said: “The fans were waiting outside the training ground.”

“So what I did (was), drive my car to the Belfry and take a taxi to practice.

“Just so I couldn’t alienate the fans. I didn’t have to stop and take the abuse.”

After winning the Premier League and FA Cup at Man City, Richards admitted he had high hopes for his time at Villa after joining then-manager Tim Sherwood ahead of the 2015/16 season, who led the team in the FA Cup final in the previous campaign.

But things quickly turned sour for the former England full-back, as he spoke to his co-hosts about his debut at the club.

He said: “I got there, I signed in the summer. Sitting with Tim (Sherwood) we had a good chat.

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“He said to me: ‘Delphy stays’ – Fabian Delph. He then went to Man City.

“He said he didn’t know about (Christian) Benteke, but if Benteke leaves, we have (Emmanuel) Adebayor coming in. We have Aaron Lennon, because of the Spurs connection.”

Richards revealed that the prospect of several high-profile teammates filled him with optimism: “I think ‘this team!’ You know, Lennon, Adebayor, Gabby Agbonlahor.”

However, despite this initial promise, Sherwood was unable to secure the services of Lennon or Adebayor, and Villa soon found themselves with limited options.

The 35-year-old went on to say: “And then Ron Vlaar left, and he was like the captain of the team. So basically, in six weeks, I don’t know, the whole team changed.”

He later added: “He (Sherwood) thought we were going to get these players, and it just didn’t come to fruition.

“He ended up signing players who weren’t, I wouldn’t say not good enough, but it was too early in their careers to be dealing with Premier League football.”

Sherwood was subsequently fired by the club in October 2015, replaced by former Lyon boss Remi Garde the following month, and Richards had some choice words for the Frenchman’s tenure.

After Shearer asked, “What time of the season do you think we’re in trouble here?”, the former player-turned-pundit pointed to Garde’s arrival, saying, “Honestly, around November.”

When invited to get on the bus, Richard continued: “Oh, when Rémi Garde arrived, oh my God!

“And I don’t like to butcher managers, and we’ve talked about it before, but he was terrible!”

He then had a brutal final assessment for Garde, who left Villa by mutual consent in March, before being relegated a few weeks later: “I think he was also a nice guy, so I don’t like not criticize people.

“But he was more than shit!” It was chaotic!”