Clinton Morrison: Marcus Rashford has his mojo back at Aston Villa
Will Jackson 
This week with Clinton we discuss reporting on Aston Villa's Champions League exit as a former Birmingham player, Marcus Rashford's reemergence and Birmingham's Championship chances next season.
Looking ahead to this weekend of action, we've picked out some key fixtures and put some predictions alongside some of our top football betting offers.
So, looking ahead to the weekend, here's what Clinton had to say when speaking exclusively to Free Bets:
Aston Villa's Champions League Exit
Q: That was some occasion last night, wasn’t it? I saw Sky posting some stuff about your reaction to the Aston Villa goals…
It was a brilliant occasion.
When you're in the moment, you're like, oh, my gosh, did you just see what was going on? It was a crazy night. Credit to Aston Villa, obviously I'm an ex Birmingham City player and the Villa fans might not like me, but you've got to give them great credit.
I think the way they came back in that second half was outstanding. At first I thought there was only one team in it with the way PSG broke through Aston Villa’s line and looked so confident and comfortable on the ball
I just didn't see any way back for Villa. One player, I think, in particular just dragged them through the second half was Marcus Rashford. In the second half, I thought he was unplayable. I thought it was the Marcus Rashford of old, beating players and going past players.
Q: Even as an ex-Birmingham player, you’ve got to feel for Villa fans after getting so close, don’t you?
If the fans start showing me a bit of respect when they see me, then maybe I might feel a bit sorry for them! But at the same time you always get it back. When Birmingham lost on Sunday, I had Villa fans messaging me. These things happen in football. Obviously when you lose, it's never nice and with the rivalry between the two clubs, I kind of get it. So it's always going to be like that where fans don't like other ex-players that played against them.
But they were good. And you have got credit to Villa fans. The Villa fans were fantastic. They got behind their team and should be proud of their team.
Their team was fantastic. Especially in that second half. They were really unfortunate probably not to go through because at one stage they looked like there was only one team for me that was going to go on and win the game and it was definitely going to be Aston Villa.
Q: And back to PSG for a moment, they look a strong unit don’t they? Where do you put them in terms of the teams left in the competition?
They're probably the second favorites I think. I think everyone's made Barcelona favorites, and I think PSG are second favorites. If Arsenal can get through Real Madrid tonight, Arsenal will give PSG a good game.
PSG are not good defensively and Villa showed that yesterday. The full-backs are very good but you can get at the centre-backs. Arsenal would cause them a lot of problems.
But PSG are a good team going forward in midfield and the three up front. Wow they are fantastic. They've got some pace, they cause problems. The young boy Barcola I thought was outstanding. And Dembele has taken his game to a whole different level at the moment.
Looking ahead to the Europa League on Thursday, and Manchester United in particular. There was a lot of talk around Andre Onana and he had some back and forth with Nemanja Matic before making the error and getting dropped for the weekend, what did you make about that?
Q:They can’t afford a European hangover this weekend though. The game against Newcastle is massive and both teams in really good form
It is massively tight. Newcastle have their game in hand against Crystal Palace so could pull further ahead. So the weekend is a massive game for Aston Villa.
You need to bounce back. I think they’ve got to concentrate on finishing in that top five which will be good enough for the Champions League., and then the FA Cup game they've got against Crystal Palace.
Now they just put their eggs in both of those baskets and go for it. Because they've had a taste of what the Champions League's like and they've done ever so well to get this far, and they probably want more of it.
The game against Newcastle this weekend is going to be a tasty one and a hell of a game.
Q: Is there any danger they can’t reach that sort of emotional high after Tuesday night or can they just carry on that momentum?
No, I think they keep going. They have got a very good experienced manager who's been there, seen it and done a lot. So I think they keep going. And you look at their bench, their bench is no weaker than the starting XI. They've got a very good squad, so they'll just keep on going. But they're against a good Newcastle team in good form at the moment.
It's the game of the weekend. And it's probably one Aston Villa can't afford to lose, because if Newcastle win their game in hand, it'll be hard for anyone to catch them.
They might even go above Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, as that's how good they're playing at the moment.
Q: With Manchester City and Nottingham Forest the other two in the top five, does that make Forest the most vulnerable of the top five?
Yeah they are, but I still think they'll do it. Chelsea have dropped off a little recently, so, they could miss out.
I think it's between Villa, Forest, Man City and Newcastle. I think they're the teams. Listen, don't write Chelsea off but the fixtures they've got are very tough.
I think it will go right down to the wire.
Is Marcus Rashford back?
Q: I’ve seen a few Manchester United fans saying it will have added a bit extra to his transfer value this summer! He looked back to his best didn’t he?
Yeah, he did, he's enjoying himself. He looks like he's got his hunger back and he looks sharp. He looks really good.
He was so unlucky when he came inside and Donnarumma made an unbelievable save. If PSG don't have Donnarumma, I think Villa will go through because he made two or three outstanding saves that only someone of his height and frame could make.
He looks good, though, Rashford, he looks proper sharp. He looks hungry. He's causing problems. I would have kept him on the pitch and just put him out to the left and just gone for it in the end. But, yeah, they were unlucky.
I think what happened in the first leg, scoring in that last minute, kind of killed the tie because it was always a mountain to climb.
Q: There has been plenty of criticism about Rashford’s body language and desire, but he looked well and truly up for it last night
Yeah, he's been more engaged since he's gone to Aston Villa. You can see he's got his mojo back and he's enjoying his football and that's what you want to see because we know Marcus Rashford is such a talented individual and when he's like that, he's unplayable.
Andre Onana...
Q: Looking ahead to the Europa League on Thursday, and Manchester United in particular. There was a lot of talk around Andre Onana and he had some back and forth with Nemanja Matic before making the error and getting dropped for the weekend, what did you make about that?
Is Onana in a position to be making comments like that?
Yeah, I just think to myself, don't even say anything back to Matic, just be quiet and then play the game.
Because what happens is if you bite back at Matic and you make a mistake, that goes to show that Matic was probably right in what he's saying about you, which he did.
Then you get dropped for the Newcastle game as well and left out of the squad for the Newcastle game. And then Bayindir comes in and he has a nightmare. So Man United have problems with their goalkeepers.
The game they've got coming up on Thursday, who's going to be your goalkeeper? Because you dropped one of your goalies and the goalie that you brought in didn't have the best game at Newcastle. So you've got two goalkeepers who are going to be short on confidence.
It's hard because I was a player who liked to speak a lot, but you get caught up in the heat of the moment. Sometimes it's best not to say anything until after the game, and when you've had a good game, then you can bite back at Matic and say how you feel.
It kind of came back and bit him on the bum, didn't it?
Q: Is he good enough for Manchester United?
You know what? I don't think he's a bad goalkeeper. The problem is he makes some good saves, he's good with his feet, but when he makes mistakes, it costs Man United and everyone highlights it. And that's the problem at the moment.
You can't be playing for a club like Man United and keep making those big mistakes after the great goalkeepers they've had before, because everyone will judge you on the previous goalkeepers because that's the football club, you're still a massive football club in Man United.
So, yeah, I don't know. It's a difficult one because. Will they go and shop in the market in the summer for a new goalkeeper? Well, they paid a lot of money for him and he's on big wages, so they have a decision to make.
Maybe they stick with him for another season, and try to get his confidence back. I don't think he's totally a bad goalkeeper. I just think at the moment he's going through a bad moment and making a lot of mistakes and he's getting punished.
Q: They have Lyon at home, and Spurs have probably a harder task away at Frankfurt. Is it an exaggeration to say Ange Postecoglou’s job is on the line?
Everything's on it for him. The Tottenham fans are so frustrated at the moment that I don't know how long Postecoglou’s probably got at Tottenham.
I was backing him, saying we should save judgment for when he gets his players back, but even though the players have come back, it's not good enough.
You can't be going to Wolves and losing 4-2 on the weekend and the fans are going to be.This season is just petering out and it's a hard game against Frankfurt. It's not like they're at home, they're away. It's 1-1 and it's a hard place to go and try and get a result.
So it's all or nothing for me with Postecoglou in that game. Because if not I think they could make a change in the summer.
Championship Promotion
Q: Championship next, and this time next week we could know the top two if results go a certain way. Do you think the table will finish with the top three the way they currently are?
Yeah, I actually do. I've said it all season and I was right to say it to be fair, even when Leeds went through a slippery spell and Burnley were behind, Scott Parker always came out and did interviews and said we have to do what we've done.
Sheffield United have kind of capitulated at the wrong time. They've lost three back-to-back games against teams where you probably thought they would win, but this is what you're doing when you're playing against teams like Plymouth, Oxford and Millwall, that have something to play for.
It's always going to be difficult and if you don't turn up with the same mentality or the right mentality, you're going to get punished.
So it looks at the moment with five points adrift, I think Leeds are safe, and if Sheffield United don't beat Burnley, then it's all over. Even if it's a draw for Burnley, I can't see Burnley with two games to go not winning one of those games with the gap as big as it is.
I expect everyone to win on Friday but you never know. It's the Championship. It could just twist and turn around like that.
But I don’t worry about Leeds, I think Leeds will finish at the top. Burnley just have such a good defence that I don’t see them losing that many points for Sheffield United to catch them. And you have to feel a bit for them because they had the two points deducted, but it is a very unforgiving league
Q: It’s been some meltdown from Chris Wilder hasn’t it? He seems to have completely lost his cool in the last few weeks
He has. I'm surprised because I know Chris Wilder and I'm very surprised he's lost his cool with what he was saying about the fans after the Oxford game and then obviously whatever happened at Plymouth.
I don't know what happened at Plymouth but he didn't look best pleased when the players were going off. So. And obviously a bit of altercation which everyone saw in the tunnel. So yeah, he's just got to keep going. He's got to try and galvanize his group and keep going.
As I said, there's four games to go. A lot could change. Twelve points to play for, you just never know.
You don't want to go into the play-offs on the back of not winning games. You want to go into the play-offs in a good run and winning games of football because it's always a team that are winning games that end up winning through the playoffs and just take the momentum through to them.
As a player, I’m guessing it’s good to have a manager who is passionate and is willing to fight for you, but when it’s boiling over in this sense, it can’t help anyone to see him going over the top, can it?
It's difficult because his passions are running high at the end of the game. So I get it. The manager's frustrated. He's probably frustrated that they've not got the result as well as other things. Wilder probably looks back now and thinks I don't know why I got involved in that. But at the same time, I think a lot of people have been in that position where you're boiling over, you're frustrated, you've just lost the game and someone says something and you just flip for that instant
I bet when he got in the changing room, he totally regretted it, knowing Chris Wilder. So it's just a heated a moment and those things kind of happened.
Birmingham - Championship Favourites?
Q: I saw you were at Wembley for the Birmingham game on Sunday. They’ve won League One now, and we’ve had them priced up as one of the favourites for the Championship next season with one online betting site, do you think that’s fair?
I don't know if it is one of the favorites, but I do believe they can go back-to-back with promotion.
What you've got to realize is the three teams that are coming down, they have that parachute money. So three teams that are coming down will be decent in the league - depending who they're getting as their bosses.
I don’t know about Southampton, and maybe Leicester could struggle but Ipswich, I think Ipswich will be strong in the Championship. It depends if they have McKenna or not, we'll have to wait and see with that.
But I do believe Birmingham can go back-to-back. I said it on Sunday when I was speaking to the fans and I think they can go back-to-back. I think the owners are very ambitious, they have signed players that should be good enough for the Championship like Alfie May, Jay Stansfield and Iwata, Ethan Laird too. They’re good Championship players, and I think they’ll add three or four more players to that squad, because the hierarchy is very ambitious
I think they'll have a great chance of finishing in the top six. I'm not saying they’ll get automatically promoted, but I think they'll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
And I do think they can go back-to-back. I've said it many times. I think they're. They're the club where I think could go back-to-back.
Q: And you got the meet the ownership on Sunday didn’t you? How was that?
Yeah Tom Brady is a legend! It was the first time I was a bit starstruck. I had to ask the security guy if I could have a picture because I don't really know what to say to him! But he was a nice guy, and I was a bit star-struck.
But I think they're good owners. Tom Wagner as well. What they're doing at that football club is massive. Birmingham City deserve to be back in the Premier League and so do the fans. So that's why I'm hoping that they can do it.
