Maloney: My stay at Aston Villa is not doing my career any good

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The 25-year-old yesterday arrived in Prague with the rest of the national squad at the end of a season in which he was unable to become a regular starter for Martin O'Neill's Villa.

Maloney suffered from homesickness when he initially moved south from Celtic in January 2007 and has been regularly linked with a return to Parkhead.

Rare high: Shaun Maloney scores the opening goal during the Premier League match between Villa and Chelsea in December

While now settled into life in the Midlands, he will review his position in the close season.

"I've got something to think about, yes," said Maloney. "I have started to enjoy the club down south but I've just not played and I don't think that's ideal. We will see what happens in the next few months.

"One day, I would like to move back and play in Scotland but I've got a few years left at Villa, so we will see."

Maloney started in Burley's first game against Croatia back in March and is expected to again feature against the Czech Republic tonight, especially as the travelling squad has been severely diminished by a spate of high-profile call-offs.

The forward is, though, keenly aware that his hopes of impressing Burley ahead of the opening World Cup double-header against Macedonia and Iceland in September will be stymied if he is confined to the bench with his club.

"It's about time I staked a claim," he said. "But if I'm not playing regular football for my club, then I can't expect to come in and play regularly for my country, so I think that has to change."

Asked whether his time in England's top flight had made him a better player, he replied: "I'm not sure. I've not played a lot of football in the last year-and-a-half, so maybe not, no."

Celtic, meanwhile, have dismissed reports that Australian winger Harry Kewell is close to agreeing a £40,000-per-week Bosman deal to move to Parkhead.