Prince William was in the Aston Villa dressing room before and after the midweek victory over Zrinjski Mostar  – and Matty Cash says the ‘massive fan’ regularly appears at training sessions

Aston Villa’s attempts to crack the Premier League elite has royal backing with Prince William making regular appearances at training sessions.

The Prince of Wales is a lifelong Villa supporter and addressed the team in the dressing room after their last-gasp victory over Zrinjski Mostar in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, after sitting close to injured defender Tyrone Mings during the game.

‘We hear from him quite a bit,’ said defender Matty Cash. ‘He comes to training sessions. He speaks to us like a normal guy and we treat him that way when he comes.

‘He likes to be around the lads because he is a massive Villa fan. He knows all our names and our nicknames, everything. He is a proper supporter who loves coming here.

‘He was in the dressing room before and after the Zrinjski game. He said that normally when he is at home he is shouting and screaming at the TV, whereas at Villa Park he is a bit more calm.

‘I’m sure he was going crazy when we scored at the end of Zrinjski game. Tyrone speaks to him quite a bit, I think.’

The Prince sat next to former Villa forward John Carew when Villa were promoted to the Premier League by winning the 2019 play-off final and attends Villa Park when he can.

He wore Villa colours for the Zrinjski game – a navy blue blazer and burgundy jumper, over a light blue shirt – and appeared happy to be chatting with fellow fans in a VIP section of the ground.

Villa boss Unai Emery said: ‘It is the third time I have met him. He is welcome as he is supporting us, feeling emotional with us.

‘He met the players and me and we were speaking about Aston Villa and his wishes for us to do something this year.’