Darren Bent hasn`t been selected for the Euro`s. Not a major surprise really, he`s not been fit to play for 19 or so games. Shame for him but hopefully he can bounce back and be fully fit in a Villa shirt for next season.
The squad:
Hart, Green, Ruddy, Johnson, Jones, Terry, Lescott, Cahill, Cole, Baines, Walcott, Downing, Chamberlain, Gerrard, Barry, Lampard, Parker, Young, Milner, Defoe, Rooney, Welbeck Carroll. Back-Up: Butland, Jagielka, Henderson, Johnson, Sturridge.
Bent told www.avfc.co.uk ‘I am determined to come back stronger like I have the previous two times I have missed out. This won’t stop me or deter me. I now look to the World Cup in two years and will try to be involved in that one. I want to put myself in contention again.”
Adding, happily, ‘My total focus is on Villa next season now. I am confident we will improve and have a much better season. The previous one was obviously not great but this is a massive club and we have to make sure that was just a blip. We need to get behind the new manager when he comes in and put all our efforts into the new campaign.’
He also told Mat Kendrick @ The Birmingham Mail that players need to take some responsibility for last season and that it is always the managers that take the brunt.
“People have asked if I was mis-sold the dream when I signed and if I`m honest I didn`t think Ashley Young and Stewart Downing would leave in the same summer. But I signed for Aston Villa because I wanted to be here and I still do”.
He also says fairly clearly that he had links last January and didn`t want them and that nor does he now.
“It`s not been a great season but this is a massive club and we`ve got to make sure it is a blip that doesn`t happen again. It is still a time of transition and we need to do our best to get behind the new manager.”
All down to who comes in now really isn`t it? Who knows, some of the players who haven`t quite worked out yet might get a fresh lease of life and of course, we do have a crop of nice youth players breaking through as well.
Share this article
Related Articles
