Villa boss Martin O’Neill has reassured club record signing James Milner his time will come – even though it will not be against QPR.
So far Milner’s only start since his £12million arrival from Newcastle has been in the UEFA Cup against Litex Lovech, with the right-sided midfielder coming on as a substitute in the games against Liverpool, Tottenham and Albion.
His frustrations have been intensified by the fact he is cup-tied for tomorrow night’s Carling Cup clash at Villa Park.
Milner played in the previous round for the Magpies in their win at Coventry.
O’Neill knows the England Under-21 star is champing at the bit to get a more prominent role, yet insists his patience will eventually be rewarded.
He said: “The unfortunate thing for us is that James Milner is cup-tied, because he played for Newcastle against Coventry. He is dying to get in the side but the players in there have been playing so well. His time will come.”
O’Neill is likely to rest a number of key players against the Hoops after a gruelling week, which saw Villa play away three times in less than a week and make a trip to Bulgaria.
After spending £48million on strengthening his squad this summer the Ulsterman does not expect to standards to drop – nor does he want a repeat of last year’s early exit at the hands of former club Leicester, when Villa turned in a shocking performance.
O’Neill said: “We will certainly make a few changes in the side, whilst reminding ourselves of what happened last year. Everybody will want to go and make their own mark and I think that’s really important.
“We have some players here who are just dying to get playing. Zat Knight has done really well for the reserves in the last two games. I want everybody to be able to step into the Premier League and not be able to use the fitness element as an excuse
“We want to win, it is really important for us. We will make changes so don’t work one against the other but there should be a phenomenal determination about us to win this game.
“We will treat the games properly and give them the respect they deserve.”
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