Red card duo sweat on recall

Oct 31 2007 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

SCOTT Carson and Nigel Reo-Coker will be kept on tenterhooks as to whether they will win automatic recalls to the Villa side following their one-match suspensions.

Both summer signings missed the draw at Bolton due to their red cards against Manchester United, but despite their impressive starts to life at Villa Park, manager Martin O'Neill wants to delay making any decisions about his selection for Saturday's visit of Derby.

Despite the Rams' atrocious record this season and fact they have lost their last eight games at Villa going back almost two decades, O'Neill is taking nothing for granted.

"I will think about that (recalling the suspended players) later in the week," he said.

Stuart Taylor again did well in Carson's absence but a betting man would take a punt on him being relegated to the bench. The same would certainly go for Isaiah Osbourne, whom O'Neill admits failed to stamp his mark on the midfield at The Reebok.

"We did change things around. I didn't want to just accommodate players, I wanted us to win the midfield and I felt we were capable of doing that with the boys we had in there," O'Neill said.

"The game for the most part, and absolutely not his fault at all, bypassed Isaiah in the sense that he has been able, in reserve games, to thrust forward with the ball and take it on - and it just didn't happen.

"I have watched the game back and we passed it and passed it. We must have passed it eight times without them getting the ball, and I actually wasn't sure where we had gone with it.''

Villa have also announced a three-match ban for supporters at Villa Park who breach the smoking ban.

The move comes into effect from the Arsenal game on December 1 after regular instances of illegal smoking in the stadium.