players unsure of future....

[andy villa]

Jlloyd Samuel has reiterated he may need to leave Aston Villa to further his career.

The defender has seen former colleague Darius Vassell shine at Manchester City and believes he may need to follow suit.

Samuel is currently in his eighth season with the Midlands outfit, but has found regular football under David O'Leary a rarity of late.

The 24-year-old feels he should be playing regularly and is ready to consider his options if he continues to be in and out of the side.

"I want to play football and, if that means going somewhere else, so be it," stated Samuel. "I was the established left back here.

"My record shows that I am established Premiership player no matter whether people have good or bad thoughts about me.

"I've been here a long time. In a similar way to Darius, maybe there is a case for now saying I've been too long at Aston Villa.

"I still keep in touch with Darius and he seems to have perked up now that he is at Manchester City. He is doing well."

Olof Mellberg is interested in playing for a bigger club, although he is keen to see the Midlands club grow in stature.

The Sweden international is contracted to Villa until 2008, but that is not stopping his dreaming of playing for the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid.

"It is out of my hands," Mellberg told the Expressen regarding his immediate future.

"It would be fun to play for one of the best sides in the world, which Aston Villa are not.

"At the same time, it would be a big achievement for me to be a part of building something big at Aston Villa."

Juan Pablo Angel has admitted that he is uncertain where his future lies.

The Colombian made a brief appearance as a second half substitute in the defeat to West Ham on Saturday, something he is getting used to after making just one start in Villa's last eight games.

He is growing frustrated at his lack of opportunities, and has now warned club bosses that he does not know how much longer he can bear to stay on the sidelines.

"I don't know how long this situation can carry on. Am I at the crossroads of my Villa career? I don't know," Angel told The Birmingham Mail.

"It's tough. I don't like to be on the bench, but there's nothing I can do except work my socks off on the training ground and play my part when I get the chance to come on. The time will tell.

"It's an unusual situation for me but things have changed and I need to work myself back into the team.

"At the beginning of the season I wasn't performing well and neither was the team. Just before Christmas and over the Christmas period I was playing much better and now I feel fit and sharp."

Angel is baffled at manager David O'Leary's reluctance to play him up front alongside Milan Baros, and conceded that he was finding it hard to make an impact in 20-minute cameos.

"I knew that if Baros had been available for the game last week (when Angel started against Hull) I wouldn't have played. We've started just two games together.

"I'd be happier starting than sitting on the bench, but I'll always work hard and continue to do my best.

"Sometimes it's difficult to do much in 20 minutes. I try to do my best and play a part."

Lee Hendrie is thinking about a move away from Aston Villa, but has denied falling out with manager David O'Leary.
"Am I getting to the stage where I might have to leave? Possibly," said the 28-year-old midfielder.

"I don't want to waste a season. That's my main issue. I don't want to go a full season, look back and think I've made six or seven appearances.

"We've not had a fall-out. I've never had a rift with the gaffer, but I don't want to be a back-up option at 28."

Hendrie has struggled for first-team football since the arrival of James Milner on loan from Newcastle.

"I've looked at the last few seasons and I've played 20-plus games all the time.

"I don't want to waste a season. That's my main issue. I want to play football. Who in their right mind doesn't want to play football? I'd love to play football here every week."

Hendrie joined Aston Villa as a trainee in 1994 and has made more than 200 appearances for the club.

But the midfielder realises that all he can do to try and force his way back into the reckoning at Villa is keep impressing the manager in training.

"There is nothing I can say to the manager," he said.

"I can't go in and say `play me' because the gaffer is going to make his decisions. All I can do is keep giving him a headache and let my football do the talking. "I don't want to go in there ranting and raving because I've got a good understanding with the gaffer.

"If we've got a problem, we speak about it and that's the way we have been over the period he's been here."

the exodus starts....