Nathan Delfouneso wants starting spot
Thursday 25th August 2011, 2:59PM BST.
Aston Villa striker Nathan Delfouneso today told manager Alex McLeish to forget about the big names and put his faith in the club’s young guns.
Delfouneso insisted Villa’s fledglings are ready to ride to the Scot’s rescue and prove themselves in the Premier League.
Villa are still seeking to slash their wage bill – despite banking more than £35million by selling Stewart Downing and Ashley Young to Liverpool and Manchester United.
But McLeish is in a catch-22 situation as he needs to keep his fringe players because he doesn’t believe there is enough time to replace them, with the transfer window closing on September 2.
Barry Bannan, Marc Albrighton and Ciaran Clark all played in Tuesday’s 2-0 Carling Cup win over Hereford and Delfouneso urged McLeish to trust them.
The 20-year-old said: “He doesn’t have to spend money to go and get other people, when we know we’re here and can do the job in the first place.
“We all believe in ourselves and believe in our own ability that we can get into the team and we can do the job.
“It’s down to us, we’ve got to work hard every day in training, go and perform and hopefully the gaffer will put us in the team.”
Delfouneso, called up to the England under-21s with team-mate Nathan Baker yesterday, came off the bench on Tuesday to score a late second against the Bulls but wants to nail down a starting spot.
He said: “It feels like I’ve been around for a long time. I was 17 when I scored my first goal, so it’s time to push on and become a regular in the team now.”
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