Bannan revels after O´Neill exit

Aston Villa whiz-kid Barry Bannan is delighted with his new lease on life at the club, saying former boss Martin O’Neill left him disheartened.

The 20-year-old has impressed as part of a youthful side at Villa Park under Frenchman Gerard Houllier, with the likes of Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark, Jonathan Hogg, Eric Lichaj and Nathan Delfouneso getting their own time to shine in the English Premier League.

Bannan’s performances led to a call-up from Scotland, and he promptly starred in his country’s 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands on Tuesday.

But he could easily have departed Villa due to a poor relationship with previous manager O’Neill, with Bannan forced to go on-loan to Derby County and Blackpool in the past two seasons to get first-team opportunities.

“I’d been at the club since I was 14,” Bannan told The Daily Record.

“My parents had left Lanarkshire and moved to the Midlands to look after me while I tried to become a success. But Martin left me disheartened when what I really needed was his trust.”

“Martin had size issues with me and he kept bringing them up in conversation over the many meetings we had when he was at Villa.”

“I knew I couldn’t afford to be totally disheartened because then my confidence levels would have dropped and my game would have gone to pieces along with them.”

Bannan remained confident in his ability and is delighted with the switch in managers at Villa Park.

“The only thing that kept me going during that period of rejection was when I said to myself, ‘Some day, somebody will show confidence in you’,” he said.

“Gerard likes a passing game for Villa so now I’ve gone from the stage where I was on-loan to Blackpool and playing every now and then to the point where I’ve been first pick for Villa for the last three matches in the Premier League.”

“And all of that’s been based on what the manager saw of me in training each day. I’m grateful to say he’s taken to me and I’ve experienced a total change of fortune since Gerard arrived at the club.”

Bannan also spoke of his joy at representing his country and is keen to build on his international career.

In other Aston Villa news, young midfielder Fabian Delph could return as early as January after recovery from a cruciate ligament knee injury, sustained in April.

Signed from Leeds United for six million pounds in the European summer of 2008, Delph is highly rated and has represented England at under-21 level.

“Fabian is doing fantastically well,” said Gary McAllister, Villa assistant coach and the man who gave Delph his start in Yorkshire with Leeds.

“He’s gone over to the United States to break his rehab up and he’s done some training with a specialist over there just to break up the routine.”

“Fingers crossed, he’ll be ready in January.”