Ireland seeks to reprise past glories

STEPHEN IRELAND left Manchester City yesterday and immediately set his sights on achieving “something massive” at Aston Villa this season.

The Cobh man is determined to rebuild his career at Villa after going from player of the year to spare part under Roberto Mancini at Eastlands, having moved to Villa Park as part of the deal to take James Milner to City. “I want to get back to playing the way I can — I haven’t played 90 minutes in nearly eight or nine months,” he said. “I’ve kind of forgotten the feeling what it is like to come off after a game feeling tired. I want to get back top of my game.”