Nicky Shorey and what the future holds for him at Aston Villa

Sep 4 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

“Does he have a part to play?” said O’Neill.

“Of course. I think Nicky and his agent kind of pre-empted things a little bit by thinking he was not going to play.

“I had certainly not been pushing him out but something came up and they wanted to explore that. I gave them that opportunity but it didn’t come off.

“Nicky wants to come back here and really fight for a place in the side.

“We have Warnock and then Freddie to come back so there’s options, which will be very important between now and January.”

Shorey endured a frustrating first season at Villa Park last term after going five months without a Premier League start following a mistake against Middlesbrough in November.

But he has been a first-team regular since reclaiming his place back in April, and fended off the challenge of Warnock to keep his shirt for last Sunday’s victory over Fulham.

Shorey and Warnock could have further competition for the left-back role soon with Wilfred Bouma closing in on a return from his severely dislocated ankle after a long lay-off.

“It’s getting to a stage now where I think he is just about ready to come in,” said O’Neill.

“Obviously he wasn’t able to play in the reserve fixture but we are hoping to arrange something in the next 10 days specifically for him and I’m hoping psychologically he’ll feel much better after that.”