Aston Villa's international pull worked for Warnock

Aug 28 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

“Coming into a squad like that is absolutely fantastic. The international stage is important to me. That was one of the reasons for coming to Villa.

“I want to play with the English players here because it’s likely they’ll be watched regularly by Fabio Capello. It’s great to be at a club like this.”

Warnock, who started his career at Liverpool and had loan spells at Bradford and Coventry, was also impressed by the positivity shown by O’Neill.

“It’s an exciting challenge,” added the 27-year-old.

“Villa is a massive club with huge traditions and I want to be part of the future here.

“If you look back at the manager’s career and the clubs he has been at and what he has done, it’s fantastic. He’s a manager a lot of people want to work with and play for and I certainly am one of them. Everything about Villa is positive.”