Last week it was Mark Delaney and now it is Kevin Phillips who has come out to express their opinion on Gavin McCann and I'll be honest with you, I just don't see it.

Sure he slides in with a few tackles and as a defender you're happy with that as it's cleaning something up but you don't see McCann playing many killer balls through to the strikers - more often than not he is passing back or square.

The crunching tackles are not always crunching either. I've often seen him miss and thought to myself, why?

I like midfielders who can play intelligent football and not what McCann plays which I call safe football.

Don't get me wrong you can't be taking risks all day but you don't win games with only five shots in a match and often this season the midfield hasn't created the chances that we need.

It's a catch 22. The players seem to like McCann and he has grown on me since he made a comment to the two staff reporters at Aston Villa but I'd far rather have a strong midfielder who stays on his feet who when gets the ball can see a good pass than somebody who seems to spend so much time on the floor who passes backwards.

So, what to do. Well if David O'Leary is using the technology that is available to him he'll know this for sure. Last season McCann played 23 games for Villa and when playing Villa won and lost eight and drew seven.

Without McCann last season Villa lost nine, drew four and won 5.

I like statistics so you have to say Villa do play better with McCann - I just don't think he's the influence many people think he is and would rather they played somebody who added a little more.

What are your thoughts on McCann? Email me at damian@astonvilla.biz.