O’Halloran No Future Concerns

Stephen O’Halloran is confident his future lies at Aston Villa and has said as much to the press.

Speaking to BBC Radio WM, the Eire U21 star said:

‘The gaffer’s just told me to keep working hard and I’ve just extended my contract for another 18 months so that’s a good sign.

‘I went on pre-season tour with Villa and played at left-back. I think he prefers me there.’

He also commented on the departure of fellow Academy graduate, Gary Cahill:

‘Gary’s been a great player since he came through and he got that great goal a few years ago against Blues.

‘It’s a shame to see him go but obviously there’s a lot of competition at centre-back.

‘A lot of players have come through over the years and going on loan helps.

‘Gary went on loan and did himself great justice at Burnley and Sheffield United.

‘Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps and make the breakthrough soon.’

The jury is still out on O’Halloran, and I know Martin O’Neill was disappointed that he missed his Southampton debut the other week after they convinced him to let him go, but hopefully once he gets his foot in the door there will be no stopping him, and we can all decide if he is Bouma’s natural replacement, or whether we need to add left back to our right back concerns.