|
Merson
had been earmarked for a key role in Switzerland, especially with
Villa missing all of their World Cup stars.
But
he told Villa manager Graham Taylor that he was under-prepared for
the game despite having been given a fitness programme along with
the rest of the squad aimed at having them ready for the early start
to the season in Europe.
Taylor
is publicly insisting there is 'no problem' with Merson, who was
dogged by injury problems last season. But it remains to be seen
whether Merson's failure in not being ready for the new campaign
will count against him.
The
34-year-old player is already entering the last year of his current
contract with Villa and had previously admitted that he did not
expect to receive another one.
Taylor
said: 'Paul didn't think he was fit enough to participate in the
game. But the majority of the players did what they were asked to
by the club and have come back fit.
'I
asked Paul what I should do about it and he was quite happy for
me to say that the player himself did not think he was ready.
'But
there is no problem with me and Paul. He was honest enough to say
what he thought. It's part of Paul's rehabilitation that he should
tell the truth and that is what happened here.
'All
the players were given a programme to follow which was recorded
on a heart-rate monitor and downloaded onto computer when they returned.
It gives us a record of what they have or have not done.'
|
