O'Neill shoulders Gabby blame
31 May 2007 - 09:11:08
Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has taken the blame for Gabriel Agbonlahor missing out on selection for the England Under-21s squad for the European Championships.
Agbonlahor was left out after failing to show up for a training camp ahead of the summer action in the Netherlands, but O'Neill says that that was his fault.
He told the Daily Express: "I spoke to Stuart Pearce a couple of weeks ago to say to him that Gabby has had a long season and that he may need a little while longer to recover from illness and niggling injury.
"I felt Gabby would benefit from a slightly longer break, but perhaps I didn't communicate this correctly to Stuart.
"I am genuinely sorry about any mix-up and I know Gabby was keen to be in the squad."
Pearce had earlier said on announcing his 23-man squad: "We called him up for the trip to Spain and he was on holiday at the time. He's failed to respond to the phone calls the FA have made to him.
"He must have his own reasons, but my focus is on the players who have shown up."