Aston Villa: Emile Heskey set his target for the season

Aug 11 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

MARTIN O’Neill has challenged England striker Emile Heskey to strengthen his grip on a World Cup place by taking his scoring tally into double figures next season.

Heskey is not known for being a prolific goal-getter but has found the net twice in pre-season, against Porto in the Peace Cup and Fiorentina in Saturday’s friendly win.

O’Neill was delighted with his former Leicester protégé’s close-range finishes and has challenged Heskey to unlock his potential as a penalty box poacher.

Heskey regularly scored ten or more earlier in his career, but the last time he made it into double figures was his debut campaign for Blues in 2004-05.