Defender Matty Cash is happy to still be at Aston Villa after a tumultous summer transfer window for the club saw him linked with a move away.
Villa’s attempts to become a permanent fixture at the top table of the Premier League have been hampered by strict financial rules which have stopped them spending big this summer.
Homegrown talent Jacob Ramsey was sold to satisfy PSR while Cash himself was linked with a return to former club Nottingham Forest.
However, that did not materialise and Cash is fully committed to the cause.
“I’ve loved my time at Villa for the last five years, and hopefully I can have many years still at the club,” the Poland international told the PA news agency.
“I love the club, I’m really settled in Birmingham.
“If you’ve got clubs coming in for you, it’s obviously a good sign. But I love playing for Villa. I love playing under Unai and as I said, hopefully for many years I can keep doing that.”
Cash, who scored a stunning goal for Poland against the Netherlands on Thursday night, believes the unity inside the dressing room can help overcome a difficult summer off the pitch, with results on the pitch not great either.
“The PSR and stuff, it’s frustrating because obviously the owners have got money that they want to spend and do what’s best for the club, and obviously we’ve got limits and we can’t do it,” Cash, who recently become a brand ambassador for eco-friendly underwear brand Step One, added.
“But obviously we’ve had good success with the squad that we’ve got now in. So as players, you can’t really get too drawn into it. You just have to focus on your job.
“We’re the ones that are out there on the pitch. Our jobs as players, we get paid to perform on the pitch, and that’s all we can do.
“We’ve got a good, strong group. We’re very close together as a team. So it’s important to have that.
“We’ve done well because I think the squad has togetherness and in tough times like this obviously you need to stick together.
“You need to be a group and a squad, and I think we’ve done that.
“The rules are the rules, and you have to just get on with it and try and do well.”
Villa missed out on a return to the Champions League on the final day of last season, meaning they had to settle for the Europa League.
But with a manager who has won the competition a record four times, there are high hopes of more success this season.
“We want to do well in Europe again this year,” Cash said. “We have got an experienced manager, who’s obviously won it many times.
“I think it’s always an aim. When you’re in a European competition, you want to try and do as well as you can. And obviously, if you get to the later stages, you want to try and win it.”
:: Step One is a pioneering eco-friendly underwear brand known for its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and performance. For more info on all Step One products visit www.stepone.life
The costly mistake behind Daniel Levy’s fall at Spurs
I don’t understand PSR but it ‘killed’ Aston Villa’s transfer window, says Ezri Konsa
Friday’s briefing: Levy leaves Tottenham and Wales and Northern Ireland win
Dylan Lawlor praised by head coach Craig Bellamy after starring on Wales debut
Kieffer Moore goal ensures Wales edge out Kazakhstan in World Cup qualifier
Is Denmark vs Scotland on TV? Kick-off, channel and how to watch World Cup qualifier
