O’Leary Hits Back In Delaney Row

Villa boss David O’Leary has hit out at the comments made by Mark Delaney last week.

Delaney said, after being told the club weren’t extending his contract just taking up the one year option, ‘Although it has been reported that this is good news for everyone, I can assure you that I am deeply disappointed the manager and board have not seen fit to offer me an extended deal and that it has taken this long to come to a conclusion which I felt could have been reached some time ago. It is quite clear to me that the manager does not see my long-term future at the club and he has told me that if the right offer comes in, I would be allowed to leave in the summer.’

He has since been linked to a free move to Blackburn in the summer.

O’Leary said: ‘Mark’s comments have been very disappointing. It’s always disappointing when a player makes his comments through the media. This is a player and agent who signed this contract with the option three years ago so they can have no complaints when we take up the option. We don’t want Mark to go and, if he proves himself over the next year, he will be rewarded again with another deal. This is not an unusual way of doing things nowadays.’

Adding: ‘Take a great player like Dennis Bergkamp. He has been signing one-year extensions for years and there are no complaints from him.’