Laursen Delighted At Villa Stay

Martin Laursen has expressed his delight at securing a contract extension at Villa Park stating 'I want to be part of the bright future!'

We all know from interviews he has done in the past that for him, any other option outside of extending his stay was something he didn't really want to think about. That said a number of us got concerned when he said he would be interested in Newkie or Spurs as the weeks drew on and there was very little sign of the expected extension.

However, as we all know the deal is now done and although the fans and Martin O'Neill are no doubt delighted we have our concrete heading rock for the next few seasons, I doubt we are as happy as Laursen himself.

See if you can tell from an interview with the official site:

'I am delighted. I am very happy, this is what I really wanted but in football you never know what is round the corner.

'I didn't know what Aston Villa's plans were but thankfully I am here and that's what I wanted.

'Now I can focus on football and that's great. I am also pleased because I feel the club is moving in the right direction.

'We have some great young players with fantastic potential. I also love working with the manager and his staff and the other players.

'I really feel we can achieve something if we keep together and hopefully strengthen the squad too. I really feel we have a bright future.'

Gotta love the 'we' word!

'This was what I was working hard for when I was going through my rehab.

'I was hoping to win a new contract when I was injured.

'The big thing I had in my mind was that I wanted to prove that my knee was 100 per cent and that I was capable of playing well - to make sure the club had no choice but to give me a new contract and let me stay.

'Here I am and I couldn't be more pleased.

'I have played in every league game, I have scored six goals so that's a great personal satisfaction for me.

'Hopefully I can help the club achieve great things.'

With his form of late, and with a bit of luck, achieving great things may be setting the bar too low!

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