Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill admits he was surprised by the way new signing Nigel Reo-Coker was treated by West Ham last season.
O'Neill said: "To be honest I was surprised by what went on at West Ham last season but, and you will forgive me for saying this, at that point in time it was not my problem.
"It is ironic though that if Nigel had not had those problems he would probably still be at West Ham.
"All I can say is that if he plays for us like he did at West Ham then that will be good enough."