SKIPPER Andy Townsend and striker Dwight Yorke believe Aston Villa fans must tune into the European style of football if they want to enjoy a good UEFA Cup run this season.
Townsend and Yorke could sense the frustration from the terraces of supporters honed on the scorching pace of Premiership action as Villa patiently tried in vain to break down a Helsingborgs side content to put 10 men behind the ball.
Ultimately, that frustration got through to the Villa players as they attempted to chase the game when leading 1-0 and Peter Wibran's late goal ensured a 1-1 first leg draw that leaves them with a mountain to climb in Sweden.
Townsend said: "It is crazy when you are 1-0 up and feel as if you've got everybody in the ground against us. It just doesn't seem right or logical. In European football if you take a 1-0 lead some where then the opposition have to come out and try and score against you.
"European football is all about that. Brondby did the same to Liverpool last year, sitting behind the ball and frustrating everyone in the ground. But that is what happens and 1-0 would have been a good result. The way things turned out was a bit of a shame."
Yorke said: "The crowd want to see exciting football with plenty of goals but in Europe it just doesn't happen that way. Everybody thought because Helsingborgs were part timers that they were going to roll over and we would score five or six - but people have to realise that a 1-0 win at home is a good result - or at least would have been.
"It is not always exciting stuff but one goal is like winning 3-0 because they've then got to score two to go through."
Nevertheless, Townsend believes Villa can learn from their experience: "They are no mugs. They are well organised, fit lads, good technically, but we feel we can play a lot better and the tie certainly isn't over."
If Helsingborgs manager Reine Almqvist is to be taken at face value, then he could be playing into Villa's hands for he has pledged to abandon the stifling tactics which were so effective in the first leg for the return.
He said: "We normally play the same sort of style as Villa and I would normally never operate the way we did in the first leg. But coming to Villa Park was something new for the players, a big game and I had to play the way I did.
"We could do the same at home, having got the away goal, but we will not play that way. We have a public to care about and we have to entertain when we are playing at home."
