Aston Villa: Luke Young comes to terms with his grief by training

Nov 10 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

LUKE Young today opened his heart on the death of his brother and revealed his desire to get back in the Villa team has helped him come to terms with the family tragedy.

Young made his first start of the season in the resounding 5-1 home victory over Bolton at the weekend after a late substitute appearance in last week’s defeat at West Ham.

And the defender, whose 17-year-old brother Andre died on holiday in Greece in August, was reminded of the loss during an emotional moment before Saturday’s game.

Andre was in Young’s thoughts during a pre-match minute’s silence for Remembrance Day but the right-back recovered his composure to produce a fine performance.

“It all came back to me when we had the minute’s silence before kick-off on Saturday,” said Young.

“It was quite emotional for me, but it’s a long time gone now and I’m ready to focus on my football.

“In the first few weeks after what happened I didn’t really want to do anything. It was really tough early on.

“Then you come in and train hard and get a sweat on and you can get stuck in and it gives you something else to think about.”

Young became a fans’ favourite during his first season at Villa Park last term and the former Middlesbrough full-back was hoping to start this campaign where he left off.