Angel delighted at O'Leary reprieve

Aston Villa’s record signing Juan Pablo Angel has spelt out his determination to put “two wasted years” behind him and is backing David O’Leary to help him fulfil that ambition.

Angel has seldom produced the goods on a consistent basis for Villa since his £9.5m (€13.8m) move from River Plate, although he did manage 16 goals in 2001-2002.

He was also unhappy at the way he was treated by the club after first arriving in England – when his wife and new baby Geronimo were ill – and then last season he was frozen out of Graham Taylor’s plans in the second half of the campaign.

It left Angel resigned to having to quit the club in the summer – until the arrival of O’Leary as Taylor’s successor.

Now Colombian international Angel is looking to show what he is capable of as Villa aim to try to register their first home win of the season in tomorrow clash with Leicester City.

Angel said: “So far, the two years I have had at Villa have been wasted ones. I feel as if I have been in deep freeze for all that time.

“But what I have found with David O’Leary is that he is a proper manager and someone who can improve my game.

“It would be good to think that I can have my best season for Aston Villa. I don’t think the Villa fans have ever seen the best of me.

“I’d like to show them what I can do over a full season at last. That is what I came over here for and I want to be a big player in the Premiership.”

Angel admitted: “I came very close to leaving here in the summer. There were interested clubs. I could have left.

“I wasn’t getting any opportunities. Now I am happy and I want to achieve something for Villa. A big season for me would be to win something.”

O’Leary has still to decide who will be club captain after the departure of Steve Staunton, with Gareth Barry and Olof Mellberg both wearing the armband in the opening phase of the Premiership campaign.

He said: “I haven’t decided just yet. I am not trying to fudge the issue. We are very early hours in the season and I just want to look at things.”