It Was Always Villa Says Gardner

Some fans have muttered that Craig Gardner is a blue nose. The same sort of accusation thrust on Lee Hendrie despite the fact Hendrie wears his Villa badge with pride!

However it seems Gardner, who put pen-to-paper (and then wiggled it about a bit to make a signature one would assume) on a new three-and-a-half year contract this week, has put pay to any blue nose suggestions early on in his claret and blue career!

The 19-year-old midfielder, who could be part of the starting line up on Saturday with McCann suspended and Milner unavailable, explained that he turned down Birmingham City as a school boy.

He told the official site:

'I'm just delighted. Playing for Villa is something I've always wanted to do, so hopefully with this contract signed, I can live my dream. All the lads I went to school with are Villa fans and when I speak to them, I can't believe that I'm here and this is my job. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. When I was Under-15s or Under-16s I was on trial at Villa and Blues. They just wanted to have a look at me, but it was always Villa.'

It was always Villa. Doesn't sound much like a blue nose to me!

'You have to look around and see what other clubs are like, but in the back of my mind it was always Villa. I know I made the right decision.'