Let's look forward - 24/02/2004

Let's look forward
A top finisher

The derby game against Birmingham ended in disappointment, but the fans shouldn’t be too upset as I feel that this club is in a good position to move forward. Losing a 2-0 lead to your biggest rivals was not exactly planned – but we can, and should finish above Birmingham in the Premiership and I hope that this will make the fans feel better.

The Villa derby is similar to the Newcastle derby – the fans hate each other! It's the most important game of the season as a player, I enjoy the atmosphere. I scored the winning goal in my last Newcastle derby and although I couldn’t repeat this on Sunday, I’ll do my best next time we play them!! Juan Pablo was unhappy that he missed the chance when he was put through by Luke Moore – but he’s an excellent striker and these things happen. You only have to see the chance that Ruud van Nilstelrooy missed against Leeds to see that no striker scores from every opportunity.

If we put a few wins together we may even get to challenge Newcastle and Liverpool for the Champions League place, but to be more realistic, qualification for the UEFA Cup seems to be the main focus. I know that Villa have a big history and that having won the European Cup, many fans might feel that the UEFA Cup isn’t as exciting as the top UEFA competition, but I can say that with the some of the players signing new contracts, and with the club bringing in two or three more experienced and
quality players – we have a good chance!

As for my life in Birmingham, I’ve rented an apartment for three months and during this time I hope to find a family home. I’m enjoying myself here, and feel that I’ve settled in already. At the moment my wife and son are still in Newcastle, so I’m still spending some time up there. I would also like to thank everyone who has welcomed me to Villa, and to all the Newcastle fans who have wished me well for my new career. I simply haven't had time to answer all the emails, but can I say thank you to everyone who wrote to me - both through this website and to nufc.com. In fact one of the fans has made a compilation of my time at Newcastle and I was so impressed that I asked for it to be written on a CD! Thank for very much for it!


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