Shaun Maloney was happy to get through the January market with little speculation swirling over his Aston Villa future.

"It's been a year now but it doesn't feel like that because it's flown by," Maloney told the Sunday Mercury. "I didn't enjoy all the last-minute uncertainty last year but it had to happen that way.

"I guess probably a lot of people were in the same boat on Thursday.

"I didn't stay up to watch any of the last transfers going through, it was quite an early night for me."