Aston Villa striker John Carew hails 'amazing' Heskey

Jun 2 2009 Mat Kendrick

Aston Villa top scorer John Carew believes Emile Heskey’s arrival proved to be the catalyst behind his best-ever goals tally for the club.

The Norwegian striker finished the season with 15 goals after returning in prolific form from a three-month lay-off with a back problem.

And Carew insists the extra competition provided by the January addition of Heskey turned out to be the major factor for his own form.

Carew, who scored seven goals before his frustrating spell on the sidelines, came back with a vengeance to add a further eight to his total.

In contrast Heskey only found the net twice by scoring on his debut in the win at Portsmouth and in the home draw with West Ham.

Carew knows from personal experience that it takes time to settle at a new club after originally easing his way into life at Villa Park.

The 29-year-old has undergone a year-on-year improvement since arriving from Lyon in a swap deal with Milan Baros in January 2007.

And he is keen to praise the contribution of his fellow target-man, who he believes will contribute more and win over his critics next season.

“In two months I can sit and reflect and maybe find that him coming to the club has lifted everybody around him up front and made the competition a bit harder and made the strikers raise their level,” said Carew.