Collins has no Aston Villa regrets as he prepares for milestone against Chelsea
James Collins — the Irish one, not the Welsh one — reckons the 500-game milestone he will reach in this afternoon’s clash between Chelsea and Luton is the final vindication of his decision to leave Aston Villa for Shrewsbury a decade ago.
Collins, 30, made his way through the ranks at Villa Park and was offered the chance to extend his stay under Martin O’Neill.
But he was under no illusions that he’d struggle for game time and took the risk of dropping down the tiers to kickstart his career.
Collins has scored goals wherever he has gone ever since and, after joining Luton in 2017, he has played his part in their march through the divisions and earned six caps for the Republic of Ireland.
Get the latest news straight into your inbox!
It has been a hectic season so far – so make sure you don't miss a single thing by signing up for the brilliant new Mirror Football newsletter!
All the latest transfer news and big stories will land straight into your inbox. You won't miss out.
To sign up, put your email at the top of this article or follow the instructions on this link.
He said: “To get to 500 games away at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup, it makes it all worthwhile.
“Taking that leap out of my comfort zone to go and play in League Two and have that career path, this definitely makes everything worthwhile.
“When I was at Villa, because it was such a big club, they were a top-six side then, finishing in Europe, with big big players, you had everything done for you.
“The training ground was lovely, Villa Park…
“When you get a chance to go out into men’s football in the big world, you come out of digs and have your own place, it was what I wanted to do.
“Martin O’Neill and he was brilliant with me but I explained that I wanted to go out and play and try to make a name for myself, and he agreed to let me go for free.
“I was 19, 20, and went to Shrewsbury and here I am 500 games later.”
Collins, who was dubbed James Collins Junior by O’Neill and his staff in the days when both were at Villa, still has aspirations to play at the top level.
He added: “I’ve managed to get myself into the Championship and international level now, so the next step for me is to work hard and get to the Premier League.
“I’ve only just turned 30 and I still feel I’ve plenty more to give and, hopefully, one day that can happen.”
Source: Read Full Article