Ollie Watkins keen to pass Aston Villa’s Premier League goals record

Ollie Watkins has targeted Aston Villa’s Premier League goals record after passing his half-century.

The striker became just the third Villa player to reach 50 goals in the Premier League after scoring against Newcastle last month.

Only Dwight Yorke (60) and Gabby Agbonlahor (74) have scored more for Villa and – ahead of Sunday’s visit of Manchester United – Watkins, with 59 goals overall, wants to chase them down.

“When I signed my new contract, that was one of my main goals – to break that, to win something with the club, to push on and try to achieve something,” said the England striker, who has 51 top flight goals after scoring in the 5-0 win at Sheffield United last week.

“I feel like I’m improving as a player under this manager and with this team.

“Obviously I’m getting older but I feel like my game is maturing, I’ve got a better understanding and I’m being more clinical.

“So, I’ve got a lot of targets I want to reach and Gabby’s record is one of them.

“I knew I’d play in the Premier League one day but if you’d have told me I would score 50 Premier League goals for a club like Aston Villa, and the amount of appearances I have, then I would have said ‘you’re lying’.

“So I’m delighted to reach this milestone. It’s a very proud moment for me. But I’m not going to stop here, I’m going to get to 100 and push on from there.”

The 28-year-old also has 10 assists, as well as his 11 top flight goals this term, as Villa challenge for the Champions League spots.

They have lost their last two home games – to Newcastle and Wednesday’s FA Cup defeat to Chelsea – and Watkins is aware of the growing pressure if Unai Emery’s side are to stay in the top four.

“This is a game we need to win on Sunday,” he told the club’s official site.

“We need the fans bouncing. When Villa Park’s loud it’s one of the best places to play football and we need that.

“Obviously we’ve had a few dodgy results there, conceding quite a few goals, and maybe not having the performances the fans expect from us or what they’ve seen in the early part of the season.”