News in Brief: Aston Villa and Birmingham City
ASTON VILLA
Aston Villa’s manager admitted his prevailing feeling was one of relief after his team triumphed in Midlands’ derby against West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park by two goals to one two weeks ago. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gerard-c14664 Houllier and his men ended a series of three consecutive
league losses thanks to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Stewart-Downing-c34221. West Brom could only manage a last-minute consolation goal.
However, it was the perfect tonic for Aston Villa after fans had criticised his behaviour on returning to Anfield for last week's clash against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809, which Gerard Houllier and his men lost by three goals to nil.
The Aston Villa manager said: "The defeat at Liverpool hurt us, more with the way it happened. We needed to sort out a few things. We were a bit shaky at times which is normal when you are having a bad run. But I was pleased with the attitude of the
players. When you go through a bad patch, you need to keep cool and more focused on a few things. West Brom are a good team. They won at Arsenal and Everton, and drew at Manchester United, and came here full of confidence. The feeling is one of relief and
I was proud of the response of the players."
BIRMINGHAM CITY
The Birmingham City manager has urged his talismanic and in-form midfielder, Sebastian Larsson, to sign a new contract with the Blues. Alex McLeish praised former Arsenal player and said that he is one of his best players in the season. The Swedish midfielder
of Birmingham city is out of contract next summer and it is expected that he may leave St Andrew’s Stadium on Bosman transfer. Birmingham City have so far failed to reach agreement with Larsson over a new deal.
McLeish said that he definitely wants to keep http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sebastian-Larsson-c32733. The Blues manager added that Larsson has certainly been one of the stars of Birmingham this season. Alex McLeish also claimed that Sebastian Larsson has taken his game to a new level.
The Scottish manager of Birmingham City also said: “Whether that's because his contract is nearly out I don't know. Sometimes you see that with players in the last year of their contract. Seb is an international now and is a regular in the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sweden-c3015 team,
whereas maybe he was a bit part player over the last couple of seasons. Maybe that was because he wasn't on top form the last couple of season, but he certainly is now. He is one of the first picks in our team and it's up to every player to maintain that kind
of level. Seb can only talk to European clubs. He can't talk to anybody in the UK but we're not daft and we know how football works. It's a concern because, if we've not done anything about it, then Seb has decisions to make."
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