Martin O’Neill may be working round the clock to bring in the additional bodies he needs to make Aston Villa a viable contender for an assault on the Premier League but he says he also plans to use every player he has in his squad during the course of the season.
The Northern Irishman admits he has never really been a fan of a rotation policy but admits he is toying with the idea this season after a recent manager’s conference where he was surprised to discover his use of only 17 players last season was the fewest in the league.
He believes he will use every player to play their part and is calling on his players for a positive response with everyone given a chance to shine and make an impression on the manager and the fans.
“This is a game for all of us – it’s going to be a long season ahead,” he said.
“At the end of last week I went to a meeting for managers and they put up some interesting statistics for the season 2008-9.
“They showed that 17 of our lads had played in the Barclays Premier League last season. Other teams had used 23, 27 and others over 30.
“I was a wee bit surprised. I knew how many we had used but I didn’t realise it was fewer than anyone else.”
O’Neill, who will see his troops stretched between the domestic league, domestic trophies and the Europa League again this season, added: “It is a team game.
‘‘We are trying to get some extra players in if we can and, in our own way, we’re hoping to look after the players. There’s a long way to go.”
The manager admits, however, that he has been made aware, with the poor performance and defeat to Wigan at the weekend, that there is still work to be done with his current crop of players.
His young side lost 2-0 to Roberto Martinez’s new-look side with goals from Hugo Rodellega and former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jason Koumas.
“From the performance against Wigan, however, we’ve got a lot to do,” the Villa boss said.
