No guarantees for Given admits McLeish

Soccer:Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has warned goalkeeper Shay Given he cannot expect to just walk back into the team after injury.

The Republic of Ireland international has been out for a month with a hamstring injury but is now back in training and setting his sights on a return.

However, McLeish has been impressed by stand-in Brad Guzan and insists there are “no guarantees” his regular number one will automatically come back in.

“Shay is not far away. He is champing on the door to be involved this weekend against Everton,” said McLeish.

“Whether he’s going to make it, we will have to wait and see. He has made great progress.

“He is training with the group and it’s a case of how sharp he’s feeling and how confident he’s feeling before we make a decision about him coming back into the team.

“There are no guarantees of that, obviously, because of the way Brad has played. Brad has been fantastic.”

McLeish was also impressed with the sharpness of Robbie Keane in training, and although the Ireland captain is still to formalise his loan deal, the Villa boss is encouraged by what kind of impact he can make.

“He trained Monday and yesterday and looked very sharp. He got involved in all the action and scored a couple of goals,” said McLeish

“I saw Thierry Henry’s goal the other night, brilliant live on the TV, a fantastic moment. I thought ‘pwooph’, that would be good if Robbie can make that kind of impact – so no pressure Robbie.”