Thursday Sep 29 2005 17:35
Aston Villa midfielder Gavin McCann has signed a new three-year contract with the Midlanders, with an option for a further 12 months.
The 27-year-old missed part of last season due to a knee injury, but boss David O'Leary was desperate to get the midfield enforcer to sign up before the new season gets underway.
He told the club's official website: "We've got Gavin back in training now and that's like having a new player. I think we missed him a lot.
"I said when he was out for such a long spell, that we don't have another player like him. We have other players who can do different jobs in midfield, but Gav is a one-off.
"There's no doubt about it, we're a better and stronger team when Gavin is in it. We have to have a harder edge to ourselves and we haven't got that when McCann isn't playing for us.
"He's a bread-and-butter professional, an unsung-hero-type-of-player, who doesn't get the credit he deserves, but the players who play alongside him know the contribution he makes."
McCann joined Villa from Sunderland in the summer of 2003 for £2.25million.
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