Martin O’Neill insists he has no regrets over the £5m sale of Gary Cahill.
Defender Cahill prepares to return to Villa Park for the first time tomorrow since his £5m transfer to Bolton in January.
The sale of the popular 22-year-old proved controversial with many fans concerned boss O’Neill was leaving himself short of cover at the back.
Olof Mellberg joins Juventus in the summer and Curtis Davies is out until October with a ruptured Achilles, leaving just Martin Laursen adn Zat Knight as the only senior centre-halves going into the summer.
But O’Neill said: “I was perfectly happy with the money we received for Cahill.
“I was asked if I regretted it and said I really don’t think you can see that far into the future.
“The injury was very unfortunate for Curtis, but that’s why we took on another centre-half (Knight).
“That was primarily because I never thought Martin would play that many games.
“He’s played a full season which is remarkable, and we also had Olof Mellberg.
“I wasn’t pushing Gary out the door, but I understand him wanting to play, especially as he was down the pecking order.”
Cahill is guaranteed a warm reception from the the Holte because of his Goal of the Season against Birmingham two years ago and his snub to join Blues in January.
O’Neill insists he has no beef with the former England under-21 international.“I was perfectly happy with it,” he said.
“Gary genuinely wants to play football. And that’s my job to get a fair price for a player.”
Cahill is one of three ex-Villa players set to be in Bolton’s team with Jlloyd Samuel and Gavin McCann.
O’Neill refutes a sense of the trio needing to prove a point.
“Players and managers have points to prove every single week,” he said.
“You’d have to question if someone puts an incredible effort in against their old club, is that the sort of commitment their manager should be getting every single week?
“It’s for their manager to decide.
“I can’t really answer it. Over the years, some players have played very well and some haven’t done so cleverly. Our focus must be on ourselves.”
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