Barry Bannan has revealed Stiliyan Petrov's rallying call will boost Aston Villa's fight for survival.
Villa ace claims Bulgarian's chat will motivate players
Barry Bannan has revealed Stiliyan Petrov's rallying call will boost Aston Villa's fight for survival.
Villa are still far from safety, sitting just six points above the drop zone with five games left this campaign.
Petrov, who is recovering from leukaemia, paid a visit to the club's training ground to see his team-mates and Bannan believes the Bulgarian's pep talk will motivate the players to ensure Premier League safety for Villa.
"It was great to see him. It was fantastic. He is one of my close mates at the club. It was brilliant to see him," Bannan told the club's
official website.
"He was laughing, bantering and telling jokes - just in really good spirits. That's Stan for you.
Positive
"He's going through a really tough time as we all know but you wouldn't know from being around him. He's always positive and looking ahead.
"I was down after the Manchester United game and he was chatting to me via text message, having a few words for me.
"He's told us to keep going and get ready for the big games coming up. He's told us we can turn it around and finish strongly. He's told us to keep battling.
"He may be fighting illness but he'll be following us every step of the way, no doubt. We owe it to Stan to make sure when he does come back into it, he's skipper of a Premier League club.
"That's a big incentive for us, to ensure survival for Stan.
"He's going through a tough time and we're determined to get the results to make sure we keep a smile on his face and give him a lift."
