O'Neill backing for Sutton
18 Oct 2006 - 09:55:34
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill says he has no doubts that striker Chris Sutton will prove to be a useful addition to the squad at the Midlands club.
The 33-year-old worked with O'Neill at Celtic and has now moved to Villa Park after leaving Birmingham City at the end of last season.
O'Neill said after Sutton made his first outing for Villa's reserves: "People might say I knew Chris when he was only playing in Scotland, but he was magnificent for us over a number of years in Europe.
"Juventus, AC Milan and other quality teams like that can bear testament to that. Chris was brilliant for us and if he can recapture anything like that sort of form at Villa, he will do well.
"Chris started off well at Birmingham and then got injured very quickly, but deep down I'm not concerned about what he did or didn't do in the past.
"If that had been the case, I wouldn't have taken him from Chelsea to Celtic.
"He went to Chelsea for £10million and didn't settle in there, so we picked him up after Mark Viduka left Celtic and he was fantastic for us."