Tug Of War For Villa Defender

According to the Birmingham Mail Gary Cahill is at the centre of a tug-of-war between a string of Championship clubs.

Are these clubs selling tickets to the tug-of-war? Which clubs are involved, sounds great to me. Although this isn’t a very professional way to settle the future of a player is it? Maybe they’d be better playing tiddly winks?

O’Neill explains a bit more sensibly:

‘Gary is pushing in the sense that he is now back and is injury-free.’ (Cahill is playing today against Everton in the absence of Martin Laursen and Aaron Hughes.)

O’Neill continued: ‘Several clubs asked about taking him on loan, and while again it is one of the those where you feel it would be beneficial, anything can happen like that illness to Liam Ridgewell where Laursen stepped in and Gary got onto the bench. Cahill is raring to go now and that’s encouraging.’

‘I’ve hardly seen him play. The injury occurred in the second game of the tour, the midweek game in Holland. But I have been very impressed with his attitude and he is dead keen about pushing himself along now.’

O’Neill also says he has a positive view of sending players out on loan, especially as Lee Hendrie has apparently re-gained his fitness and form at Stoke.