Town chairman David Sheepshanks says that to his knowledge the deal which would take Matt Holland to Aston Villa is dead. This conflicts with the views of Holland, his agent Jonathan Barnett and Villa, all of whom have said the deal could still go through.

Sheepshanks said: "To our knowledge the deal will not go through and Matt is staying."

Town manager George Burley said much the same thing on Thursday's phone-in on Radio Suffolk and again after the Millwall game.

However, with Holland making it clear yesterday that he still believed the move might take place, Sheepshanks and Burley could still find themselves without their captain.

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