Aston Villa: Marc Albrighton has taste for big time after Peace Cup exploits for Villa
Jan 2 2010 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
MARC Albrighton admits getting a ‘Peace’ of the first team action in the summer has given him the confidence to try and prove himself in the Premier League.
Albrighton got another 20 minutes top flight experience under his belt when he came on as a late substitute in Tuesday night’s last-gasp defeat to Liverpool.
And the wing wonder insists his starring role during Villa’s pre-season Peace Cup triumph in Spain has given him the belief to play in England’s top division.
“It was definitely a breakthrough for me,” said Albrighton.
“I put myself on the map in that tournament and to play against teams like Porto and Juventus was unbelievable.
“I was stood on the pitch and Alessandro Del Piero came on for Juventus and it didn’t seem real.
“That tournament was great to play in, other clubs might not have heard about it that much but when we were there everything about it was fantastic.
“It was really enjoyable and it’s an experience I’ll never forget.
“Since then I’m thinking a lot more positively because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“I’ve worked for so many years to be a professional footballer and now I can see it all coming together.
“I just need to keep doing what I’m doing and I think it will come sooner rather than later.”
The upbringing Albrighton has received at the Bodymoor Heath academy keeps him grounded and he even still gets star-struck whenever he rubs shoulders with the Premier League’s A-listers.
“It has been drilled into us from an early age by Tony McAndrew with the youth team and Kevin MacDonald in the reserves,” he added.
“They tell us that we’ve not made it yet, we’re just still young kids trying to make a career in the game.
“I think that’s why our reserve sides are so good, because we’re all prepared to listen, prepared to help each other and learn from all the senior pros and all the coaching staff. I still get star-stuck all the time. Sometimes it’s crazy, like when we play against Chelsea and stuff like that, you think: ‘What am I doing here?’
“When I first started training with the first team I was really star-struck but as it’s gone on it’s got a lot better,” he said.
