Stiliyan Petrov's making his mark
STILIYAN Petrov arrived at Villa as a Great White Hope and Martin O’Neill believes he is now delivering a heavyweight punch on a regular basis.
After almost two seasons of struggle the £6.5million Bulgarian midfielder has built on an impressive half-a-dozen matches at the back end of last season with a number of eye-catching displays alongside Gareth Barry.
A defensive, holding role appears to have brought the best out of him and O’Neill is delighted.
“At the end of last season he had a very good end to the campaign,’’ said the manager. “He has been immense. Is it a make-or-break season for him? Well it’s a make-or-break season for everyone.”
Petrov did not even make the 16 for games against Reading, Arsenal and Middlesbrough in February and March after being hauled off at half-time, along with Olof Mellberg, in the home game with Newcastle.
O’Neill conceded: “I think he was disappointed with the way he had performed. I remember his debut at Upton Park against West Ham (in September 2006) where he was superb. It was one of the best debuts I have ever seen.
“But he was definitely inconsistent. He never captured the form that I have seen him play at Celtic. And I mean Celtic on European nights when he was fantastic.
“He has had to adapt. At Celtic he was basically a midfield player getting beyond the centre-forwards and I think I could score goals from midfield if I had Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson playing up front!”
Petrov can become much more of a force, says O’Neill. “He is so strong on the ball and he is making things happen for us. I still believe there is a wee bit more to come from him. He has a great shot and he can get a goal or two.
“He is the first one I look to to get back. Gareth Barry is the one who marauds forward. The first one I look to when we lose the ball is Stiliyan.
O’Neill added: “His confidence was low last season. Now he is going in, winning the balls and setting things in motion.”
