Aston Villa's rising star Nathan Delfouneso on the nickname that's stuck

Mar 28 2010 by Andy Walker, Sunday Mercury

“For me, it’s just about getting my head on the game and not getting too excited.

“I just have to make sure I’m concentrating by keeping myself level-headed. I know that if I get too excited by what the crowd were saying then it will affect my performance.

“So I’ve just got to keep my head, keep calm and go out to perform on the pitch.”

Delfouneso has become a regular on the Villa bench and, although he jumped ahead of flop Marlon Harewood in the striking pecking order, the hot prospect is still some way off overtaking O’Neill’s international trio of Agbonlahor, John Carew and Emile Heskey. However, the Villa boss has still shown enough faith in Delfouneso to throw him into the big games when needed.

And Delfouneso is just happy to be picking up tips from a Champions League-chasing squad.

“It’s good training with experienced guys like John and Emile, but it’s not just them.

“All the team help – from the goalkeeper to the defenders to the midfielders to the strikers – I can learn something from each and everyone of them.

“It’s now down to me to keep learning and keep trying to develop.

“Obviously I haven’t started week-in week out and I’m still at that phase where I understand that I’m still developing. Rather than being considered a first-teamer, I still just see myself as a member of the squad who’s still learning all the time.

“I have to take everyday and every training session as it comes.

“But I’m definitely up for it when called upon. I just want to get out on the pitch, prove myself and show that I’ll eventually be worth a place in the first-team.”

While fellow academy graduates Barry Bannan, Shane Lowry, Eric Lichaj, Nathan Baker, Jonathan Hogg and Chris Herd have all been farmed out on loan, Villa boss O’Neill has preferred to keep Delfouneso, along with Ciaran Clark and Marc Albrighton, under his watchful eye.

And while the developing goal-getter could be regularly finding the net and picking up vital senior game time in the lower leagues, Delfouneso has complete faith in his manager’s decision to keep him at Bodymoor Heath.

“That’s all down to the gaffer,” he added. “I’ll just trust his decision and I believe that being here is better for my development, after all he obviously knows what he’s doing.”