Martin Thanks Marlon

Martin O'Neill has praised the attitude and effort of Marlon Harewood.

Speaking on the official site, O'Neill praised the player saying that he is a valuable member in the dressing room for firing the players and that he is starting to get a bit of a cult status with the fans when he's on the pitch.

Harewood has yet to start a league match for Villa since joining from Wet Spam, but O'Neill has been delighted with him so far.

'I couldn't be more pleased with Marlon. He's made a big impact in the games where he's come on.

'I thought he did OK against Fulham when he came on in what was a pretty poor team performance, he turned the game for us at Liverpool, headed against the bar against Blackburn and on Saturday he was really excellent.

'He's becoming a bit of a cult hero with the fans. But he does the same with the players as well - he gets them pumped up in the dressing room.

'When he came on on Saturday, I thought he had a major impact on the game. He hasn't started for us in the Premier League, but I think now he really feels part of proceedings.'

In this day and age it's hard to believe that players can be patient and work hard behind the scenes to get their chance, and although many fans expressed concern, if not confusion, when he was signed, Marlon has done everything right so far.

He hasn't been phenomenal in games and he's certainly had off appearances, but as JF so rightly stated in his Thank You to Marlon article, his attitude and commitment cannot be faulted.

Plenty of footballers today could learn lessons from this man.

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