Joe Bennett's mission is to silence doubters
New-boy Joe Bennett can't wait to prove the doubters wrong as he waits to start his Aston Villa career.
New-boy Joe Bennett can't wait to prove the doubters wrong as he waits to start his Aston Villa career.
The 22-year-old is in full training with Villa now after completing his £2.75m switch from Middlesbrough while recovering from knee and ankle injuries.
And the England age group player is confident he can make the step up into the Premier League having already twice in his career fought back from rejection.
"You're going to have setbacks in your career," says Bennett. "That's life, but you've got to get on with it.
"Those setbacks make you stronger. I want to do well and I want to prove a lot of people wrong that have doubted me. It's definitely made me mature and made me more determined."
As a teenage prospect he was released by Middlesbrough but forced the Championship club to reconsider with some goalscoring form in Sunday League football.
But five years later and having fought his way into the first team, Bennett found himself cast out in the cold by then Boro' manager Gordon Strachan before ex-Albion boss Tony Mowbray arrived to replace Strachan and put the defender's career back on course.