Villa star tells of sadness
Steven Davis has revealed he left Villa because he couldn't face another season of uncertainty.
The Northern Ireland international left the club this week when he joined club and international team-mate Aaron Hughes at Fulham in a £4m deal.
Davis, who has signed a four-year contract at Craven Cottage, was involved in 26 of Villa's first 28 games last season.
But after starting against Watford on January 20, he made just five substitute's appearances in the final 14 matches.
He said: "I talked to my girlfriend and my family and decided I couldn't go through another season like last season when I wasn't playing.
"It was a difficult decision to leave Villa when it's the only club I've played for, but at the same time it was an easy decision football-wise because I want to play."
The 22-year-old admits he was baffled why he couldn't keep his place in the team after winning the Player of the Year the previous season.It's hard for me to put my finger on exactly what went wrong at Villa," he said.
Villa's non-international players reported for pre-season training on Wednesday, but by then Davis had made his mind up that he wanted to leave.
"I knew where I stood anyway and I didn't want to stay and not play," said Davis. "I want to be involved in the first-team and last season was very frustrating for me. I'd been down at Fulham to have a look around and then took some time to make up my mind."