Aston Villa manager David O'Leary has urged fans to be patient with midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba and insisted that they won't see the best of the player until next season.
Djemba-Djemba has struggled to make an impact since his £1.3million move from Manchester United and was dropped to the bench for Villa's game against Middlesbrough nine days ago.
However O'Leary insists that he has wanted to ease Djemba-Djemba into action at Villa Park, but injuries and suspensions have forced him to throw the Cameroon international in at the deep-end.
The Villa boss believes the player needs a full pre-season under his belt to come to terms with the high tempo game he likes his teams to play.
O'Leary said: "I bought Eric more with a view to next season. I felt we had to get a few bodies in and there was a player available at Manchester United for £1.3million with the wages being very reasonable as well."
"But I have really got him for next season. I really feel he will need a good pre-season under his belt with the way that we play."
"He hasn't played much and when that is the case you need to get up to speed. He has come into Villa and I'd have liked to have played him in there with someone like Gavin McCann," the Villa boss added.
"He came in against Arsenal which wasn't the best of games to come in when hehasn't played much. He did quite well at Portsmouth and I think he did alright against Everton but what he has needed is to come into a team that is playing really well."
