Carew Mega Wages Drivel

Martin O’Neill says the reports that John Carew is on £57 000 is ‘utter drivel’

He also says: ‘On his day, he’s a real handful. He’s quick and he’s a big lad. If he can steer clear of serious injuries, I think he’ll do well for Villa. I watched him recently in a match against Real Madrid and he certainly caused Cannavaro plenty of problems.’

Adding about the suggestions in a local paper he is on mega wages: ‘That’s complete and utter nonsense. He was on decent money at Lyon, which we obviously had to match, but that’s the height of it and it’s not remotely near the figure mentioned. We’ve not reached anything like those figures for anybody here and this report is utter drivel.’

‘Obviously wages can pay an important part, but the fact is that the player wanted to come here and we’ve not had to ‘lure’ him.’