Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HOGAN CAN STILL BE VILLANS HERO
case, he is looking at
Hogan. This was the forward’s first start since the final league game of last season and he wasted two chances.
Swansea totally outplayed the hosts with goals from Courtney Bakerrichardson, Nathan Dyer and Jay Fulton, and the inspiration of Leroy Fer.
Villa next have games against Wigan, Hull, Ipswich and Reading they must win to stay in the Championship promotion picture.
If they are without 16-goal Abraham it’s going to be tough, but Smith said: “We have plans if Abraham goes and plans if he stays.
“It is a job for us to work on building Hogan’s confidence and get him scoring goals again.
“Is the top six still a possibility? Without a shadow of a doubt.” SUNDERLAND striker Josh Maja may be further away than he thought from a dream move to the Premier League after Roy Hodgson revealed he had never heard of him.
Crystal Palace were believed to be the leading club chasing a January move for the 20-year-old striker, who has banged in 14 goals in just 23 League One matches this season.
But while Palace scouts may have been monitoring his progress, Hodgson (right) insists he is well below his own personal radar.
“I have never heard of him, sorry,” he said. “I don’t follow Sunderland and he has not been mentioned to me.
“It is not my job to scout players. I am pretty sure, if you asked our scouting department or our head of scouting, ‘What about Josh Maja?’ – if that’s his name – he would tell you chapter and verse on him.
“But nobody has mentioned him to me and I don’t spend my time watching Sunderland play.”
League Two side Grimsby were left wishing their antics had been watched rather less.