Post by Bearinator on Oct 6, 2006 15:40:28 GMT 10
O'NEILL PLAYS DOWN COLLYMORE LINK
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has played down reports linking Stan Collymore with a return to the Barclays Premiership club.
O’Neill took the former England striker to Leicester City in a cut-price deal six years ago and Collymore is reported to be keen on a reunion with the Northern Irishman.
But O’Neill has played down the link and expressed doubts over Collymore’s plans to come out of retirement after five years away from the game.
He told official club website http://www.avfc.co.uk: “Stan is 35 and he would have to get fit. He would need a lot of willpower and a lot of self determination to get fit for the Premier League to be perfectly honest.
“At 35 you need a great desire and I just don’t know what Stan has been doing in the last couple of years. I don’t know whether that desire has returned.
“He did terrifically well for me in a short period of time at Leicester. But if you’re asking me today whether I could make an assessment that would be a difficult call.”
Collymore joined Villa for £7million in the late 1990s from Liverpool but was only a limited success.
TELL HIM HE'S DREAMING SON
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has played down reports linking Stan Collymore with a return to the Barclays Premiership club.
O’Neill took the former England striker to Leicester City in a cut-price deal six years ago and Collymore is reported to be keen on a reunion with the Northern Irishman.
But O’Neill has played down the link and expressed doubts over Collymore’s plans to come out of retirement after five years away from the game.
He told official club website http://www.avfc.co.uk: “Stan is 35 and he would have to get fit. He would need a lot of willpower and a lot of self determination to get fit for the Premier League to be perfectly honest.
“At 35 you need a great desire and I just don’t know what Stan has been doing in the last couple of years. I don’t know whether that desire has returned.
“He did terrifically well for me in a short period of time at Leicester. But if you’re asking me today whether I could make an assessment that would be a difficult call.”
Collymore joined Villa for £7million in the late 1990s from Liverpool but was only a limited success.
TELL HIM HE'S DREAMING SON
