Football: Brett Holman will get a chance at Aston Villa
New Aston Villa manager, Paul Lambert, has said that Brett Holman will get a chance to prove himself at the club, despite having been signed by former manager, Alex McLeish.
"If there is one lad who has probably got a bit of trepidation, then it would be Brett, because it wasn't me who brought him to the club,” Lambert said, “but I have spoken to him to reassure him, and he will get a right fair chance,” he added.
Holman, who plays as a support striker, or out wide, on either side, has been playing in the Dutch leagues since 2002, and he is not somebody with whom Paul Lambert is overly familiar.
“I don't know much about him, but I have watched some of his games. He did well at Alkmaar, so I don't have any worries about him on that score,” Lambert said.
Holman joins Aston Villa from AZ Alkmaar, but he has also played in Holland for SBV Excelsior and NEC Nijmegen.
Last season, Holman scored seven goals in 42 appearances for Alkmaar, and Lambert will be hoping that he can boost the Villains firepower.
Holman has 53 caps for Australia, and he has scored eight goals, including two in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Villa finished the 2011-12 season in 16th place, just two points away from relegation ,and Lambert will need all of his players, regardless of who signed them, to perform this season, if they are to turn things round.
At 28, Holman has the kind of experience that Villa will need, and, if given the chance promised by Lambert, he could help to spark an upturn in fortunes at Villa Park.