Burnout is a concern says Aston Villa strker Gabriel Agbonlahor

May 7 2009 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

“You do get worried but we are young players and if you look at players like Steven Gerrard and others they have done it so you can’t complain.”

Having stated when Villa were in a run of glorious form that he would be “devastated” if they missed out on a Champions League place, Agbonlahor now believes that fifth place and the Europa League still represents a major movement forwards for the club.

“We are disappointed we have missed out on fourth but if we finish fifth it will still be an improvement on last season,” he said.

“I think the gaffer will strengthen the squad in the summer so we will have more faces.

“The gaffer will be able to rest certain players in games if he wants and if we can do that, we will have a better chance of keeping things going.”

He continued: “Achieving a European spot was the least we wanted. Now we want to go on and win every remaining game.

“The feelings (of missing out on the top four) are mixed, a bit of both. We have high standards.

“We are disappointed at not reaching what we wanted to reach but in another way it is a good thing to be in Europe.

“At least by qualifying we can have a few more days off in the summer. It’s been a long season with starting early.”