Harewood keen on Villa stay

Striker Marlon Harewood has revealed his desire to stay at Aston Villa - despite attracting interest from a host of clubs.

The former West Ham player was primarily used as a substitute by Martin O'Neill during his first season at Villa Park, although he quickly became a fans' favourite, and he is understood now to be on the radar of newly promoted Stoke, Fulham and QPR.

But Harewood, who has two years remaining of his current contract, is keen to stay saying: "There's a lot more to come from this squad and hopefully a lot more to come from me. I want to play my part."

He added: "I'm looking forward to my second season here and hopefully I can show more of what I can do - and hopefully I'll get the chance to shine.

"The fans saw what I could do in the second half of last season and I just want to get out there and show my stuff again next season. I cannot wait for pre-season to start."

Harewood is determined that Villa make sure of their place in the UEFA Cup with victory in a two-legged Intertoto Cup match next month.

He said: "We're just one step away from the UEFA Cup and we don't want to throw that chance away. When I came to the club, all the players were talking about getting into Europe and we did that.

"I know we didn't get the automatic UEFA Cup spot but we finished sixth to qualify for the Intertoto and that was a great achievement.

"As soon as I came to Villa I could tell everyone here was hungry for success and last season is just the start."