Gabby never considered exit

03 March 2013 09:34
Gabriel Agbonlahor has never considered leaving Aston Villa and is not even thinking about them suffering relegation this season. Agbonlahor is currently Villa's longest-serving player - he made his debut seven years ago - and the England international has often been linked with a move away from the club. He will come face to face on Monday evening with Manchester City duo Gareth Barry and James Milner who both opted to move on, but academy product Agbonlahor is content to remain with Villa even though he is still searching for his first trophy. He said: "Do I regret being a one-club player? I think, for me, I have always enjoyed playing my football here at Villa so it's hard for me to say that. "Players who have left the club have had their reasons for leaving. "For me I've always enjoyed playing my football, maybe other than the one season where I wasn't playing as much as I wanted to, which was disappointing. "Apart from that, I have enjoyed my football and when that it the case you have no reason to look elsewhere. "If that changed, then you would have to obviously look elsewhere. But if I'm in the team and enjoying my football, there is no reason to do that." When asked if the possibility exists for him to never win a trophy at Villa, Agbonlahor is hopeful that scenario will be avoided. He said: "It's hard to say that. We were especially disappointed this season to lose to Bradford (in the Capital One Cup semi-final) but it showed we are getting closer. "We got to a semi-final so we are closer to getting back to Wembley. Hopefully next season we can go that one step further. "But, as much as you want to win things, as long as I am here and enjoying my football, and the club still want me, I am happy to stay here." Villa dropped back into the Premier League bottom three after last weekend's defeat at Arsenal and were beaten 5-0 at City earlier in the campaign. Agbonlahor said: "The Premier League is the only place you want to be playing. That is why, if I'm asked if I am thinking about relegation, the answer is I'm not. "I am thinking about helping the team to get out of where we are now. This is the league you want to be playing in, the best league in the world. There's no reason I'd want to leave it. "Does the threat of relegation scare me? I think it would scare anyone. As long as you are in the bottom three, it is in your mind as a player. "But, if it was a massive gap, you would be a lot more scared. But it is only a point or two and you are out of there. "Hopefully we start getting points against the teams around us. We play QPR and Reading soon, which are massive games and then you start to think you can climb." Agbonlahor added: "Between now and the end of the season that (relegation) can't be on our mind. "We just want to get the results sooner or later to get out of the current situation. "We have games coming up we feel we can win, and that's what we have to do, go into every game feeling we can win. "There will be twists and turns but, if we can go into games with the attitude and the tempo we have been showing, we will be okay." Agbonlahor admits the clash with City has important consequences for both teams. He said: "Is it a must-win situation? I think they know that as well. I don't want to talk about that part of the league because we have got to concentrate on our situation. "But, if you ask them, they know they will need to win every game as Manchester Utd don't drop too many points. "We have got to concentrate on our own game and what we are fighting for. As long as we go into the game fighting, we will try and get a result. "As much as they need to win, we need to win as well. We need points as well."

Source: team_talk