Villa defender Martin Laursen will put friendship to one side when he returns to his homeland for Saturday’s Intertoto Cup clash with Odense BK.
The Dane, one of the contenders to claim the captain’s armband stripped from Gareth Barry, will come up against former AC Milan and international team-mate Thomas Helveg.
Laursen has nothing but praise for the 37-year-old’s professionalism and is looking forward to a tussle with his old pal. He knows the unsung Danish side are no mugs.
He said: “For Thomas still to be playing at his age is a terrific achievement. I played with him for two years with AC Milan and for many years with the national team.
“He is the the sort of player who can play until an old age. He’s a good friend as well.”
The centre-back, who was rested for Tuesday’s friendly with Lincoln, has warned his team-mates they will be given a stern test.
He said: “Odense are a good team – one of the best in Denmark. As well as Thomas, they’ve got some international players, so it’s not going to be easy.”
Midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has echoed those sentiments, warning that exiting at this stage would ruin all of last season’s hard work.
Sixth spot in the league has offered Villa a route into the UEFA Cup and the Bulgaria international, who has European experience with Celtic and CSKA Sofia, is confident they can hold their nerve and progress.
He said: “We put in a lot of effort last season because we want to play in Europe. That’s where all the fans want to see us, so we must win and get through to the next stage.
“There is more expectation and it is a lot of pressure, but I think we’re all ready to handle that pressure.”
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