Aston Villa boss reassures Nicky Shorey

Nov 19 2008 By Bill Howell

MARTIN O’Neill has reassured Nicky Shorey that he will win a first-team recall.

The news comes just as Wilfred Bouma has sets his sights on a return to training.

Shorey did not even make the seven-man bench for the trip to Arsenal when Luke Young was switched to the opposite flank.

His time at the club since his £4million move from Reading has been mixed.

He has started 11 league games but been substituted in seven of them.

O’Neill believes Shorey has found it difficult having missed the majority of pre-season.

The 27-year-old signed for his new club just 10 days before the start of the league season.

O’Neill said: “When players come in with little pre-season it’s just a matter of getting to grips with it and knowing what we want.

“Luke Young went to play left-back and in the first minute of the game Theo Walcott raced past him,” he added.

“But I thought he stuck to his task and started to read it better. For basically a right-back playing at left-back he