Taylor offers hope to 'forgotten' men
Graham Taylor has insisted Steve Stone, Alan Wright and Mustapha Hadji have not become forgotten men at Aston Villa and can still play a part if they maintain the right approach and attitude.
The experienced trio have only been given limited chances at first-team level since Taylor returned to Villa Park in February and has put the accent chiefly on youth.
But Taylor will not be afraid to bring them back into the picture – as demonstrated by the introduction of another fringe player in goal hero Dion Dublin against Everton on Sunday – if he feels it will benefit the club.
The Villa boss said: “For a lot of people outside of Villa Park, Dion Dublin may have become a forgotten man – but he’s not and it’s the same with Stone, Wright and Hadji.
“I’ve said to all of them ‘providing you don’t duck or dive with me, then I’m not going to duck and dive with you.
“I’ve said to them ‘you’ve got contracts here, the club will honour them and be ready when the chance comes again’.
“Dion Dublin did that when he came on against Everton. He and Stefan Moore gave us that added bite when attacking.”
Taylor admitted he is treading carefully with England striker Darius Vassell on his return from a hamstring problem but insisted the forward positions were still up for grabs.
The lack of goals from the likes of Vassell, Peter Crouch, Juan Pablo Angel and Marcus Allback was highlighted when midfielder Lee Hendrie’s two goals on Sunday made him the club’s leading scorer for the season.
Taylor said: “After his hamstring injury, I have to be careful with Darius and muscle injuries are likely to go again, the more tired you become in a game.
“But, in terms of all the forwards we’ve got, no combination has yet come out and shown really good form.”
