Lee Hendrie Swansong?

Looks like Aston Villa’s longest serving player, Lee Hendrie believes he has said his final goodbyes to the Villa faithful after he got a standing ovation whilst warming up and a great reception when he came on in the second half against Sunderland.

Hendrie has struggled to get and hold down a regular place at Villa this season despite a lack of bodies in midfield.

Hendrie, who has only made nine starts, told the official site:

‘It could have been my last game. I don’t know exactly what is going on. I’ll just have to see what is going on over the summer really. I’ve got a year left. I’ve spoken to the manager before and he said that if someone did come in, he would help me out. That’s pretty much it. I haven’t had too many conversations with the gaffer. So it’s pretty much a case of wait and see. I couldn’t even say if I will be here next season.’

Adding:
‘At the moment I have got to be honest and say that I don’t want to go through a whole season like I did this year because it was a wasted season. If it is going to be the same sort of season I am going to have to move on. That’s unfortunate and it is not something that I want to do. I have said all along that I want to finish my career here. It would be fantastic to do that, but things don’t always work out that way.’

He also says about his appearance 8 minutes from the end ‘I am just glad I did with the response I got. The hairs were standing up on the back of my neck when I was on that touchline. It was absolutely fantastic. The response from the fans when I came on…it was an emotional moment for me. Deep down you think: ‘am I going to be here to witness that again?’ That’s not nice, but I would like to thank the fans. The reception I got on Sunday was probably my biggest ever, and I only got on for eight minutes!’

‘I hope it’s not over. I would hate to go out on that note. But in the same respects, if I have to…I have to. I’d like to thank everyone who has backed me and stood by me. I’ve always been up and down (with the fans) but for them to be so upbeat at the end was absolutely amazing.’