Delfouneso gets his chance

Gerard Houllier has urged Nathan Delfouneso to make his mark and help Aston Villa overcome a striker crisis at Fulham. England Under-21 player Delfouneso will make his first league start in the absence of the injured John Carew, Emile Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor.Carew is the latest casualty with a torn calf injury suffered in training yesterday and he will be out of action for three to four weeks.Heskey underwent surgery on Thursday on his lateral knee ligament injury and will also be out for a month.Agbonlahor is back in training after a groin operation three weeks ago but it is too early for him to be considered at Craven Cottage.Houllier said: "It is an ideal opportunity for young Nathan to step up. He will definitely be the main striker."Young players don't stay young all their lives. At some stage they will grow and get mature. But their career usually starts when there is an opportunity."I know Nathan is not a newcomer because he has already played under Martin (O'Neill) so he knows the Premier League."But to him maybe it is an ideal opportunity to put his footprint on things."Houllier is refusing to be downcast by the growing list of injuries which also includes skipper Stiliyan Petrov.He added: "Injuries are part and parcel of the football club and that is why we need the squad. I am confident. I think we've got a good squad, a good team."We have to deal with things on a daily basis. I am not down. It happens. I am not devastated. In fact, I am confident."Houllier was critical of the work rate of midfielder Stephen Ireland in midweek but has seen signs of improvement.He said: "He (Ireland) was better I would say this week. He showed a better commitment."Top level requires quality, which he has, but it also requires work rate and attitude and that probably has not been his game before."I will give him the time. I am patient."Houllier is also a big admirer of Fulham skipper Danny Murphy, who played under him at Liverpool.He said: "I like Fulham's midfield. It's a midfield of footballers in (Zoltan) Gera, (Danny) Murphy, (Jonathan) Greening and (Simon) Davies. They all play football."Danny is a player who was in every important game that we played, the finals."You can say he has no pace, maybe that he doesn't defend but, at the end of the day, he is there so he must have some quality."He's a great passer of the ball. He can see before the others. He has an eye for the pass and can see the picture."He is very clever in his movement. He is a supporting player. He knows himself he is not going to run everywhere but he has skill."

Source: Team_Talk