Glenn Whelan relishing second bite of the cherry following Aston Villa release

If Aston Villa’s decision to release Glenn Whelan hardly came as a complete shock to the veteran, he was still taken aback by the manner in which he found out.

After Villa had regained Premier League status with their Championship play-off win over Derby, Whelan took the opportunity to grab a short family holiday before flying back through the night last Saturday to link up with the Irish squad in Dublin.