Gerard Houllier has urged Marc Albrighton and Barry Bannan to remain patient as they push for recalls.
Houllier wants Bannan and Albrighton to learn
Gerard Houllier has urged Marc Albrighton and Barry Bannan to remain patient as they push for recalls.
The Aston Villa youngsters emerged as exciting prospects under Kevin MacDonald during the early part of the season and continued to impress at the start of Houllier's reign.
However, they have slipped out of the starting XI in recent weeks after Houllier made a number of additions to his squad in January.
Villa have also had fewer injury problems to contend with, leaving plenty of competition for places throughout the team and especially in midfield.
Houllier is excited by the potential of Albrighton and Bannan but does not believe a spell out of the side is necessarily a bad thing at this stage of their careers.
Reassuring
"They must understand they have to build up their game," he said in the
Birmingham Mail.
"Sometimes they must work and develop without pressure of a game.
"There must be less waste. They must be confident about beating players, crossing and passing.
"Lionel Messi didn't play every game straight away, it takes time.
"Young players have to learn, they can't be always start every week.
"Their impatience is reassuring but it must not hold them back. If you overplay them you burn them out."
