Taylor's England warning for Vassell

Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor has urged striker Darius Vassell not to throw away the chance of a place in England's World Cup squad by being affected by "outside influences".

Vassell scored on his England debut against Holland in Amsterdam in February and it seemed that he would be part of the squad for Japan and South Korea.

But he has gone off the boil in recent weeks and was on the substitutes' bench for Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Newcastle.

Vassell has been linked with various agents since his goal against the Dutch and Taylor feels that certain matters off the pitch might be upsetting his form.

Taylor said: "I am a little bit concerned about Darius. If he is unable to say 'no' to certain people then I am going to have to do it for him."