Petrov: I’m lucky to be alive

CANCER-HIT Stiliyan Petrov has vowed to support Aston Villa’s relegation fight in person after admitting: I’m lucky to be alive.

The Bulgarian — nicknamed Stan — was diagnosed with leukaemia just over a year ago.
But, after finishing 12 months of high-intensity treatment, he says he is returning to a normal life.
Petrov, 33, said: “I can say I’m lucky because some people with this disease will die very quickly and I managed to keep battling and still be here, still standing.
“It’s a long treatment and I’m in remission now, which is very good.
“It’s a great relief and I’m going to live my life. I had my hard moments but I had good moments as well.
“Only people who have been through it and the closest people will know what you’ve been through.”
Club captain Petrov has been a regular visitor to Villa matches this season — despite needing clearance from doctors to get to games. And he says he will be supporting them at every match as they look to pull off an escape act.
Villa fans have shown their support for the club’s No 19 all season by staging a minute’s applause in the 19th minute of every game.

I'M STIL STANDING ... Petrov says the support he has received is incredible

Petrov added: “The 19th minute has been just incredible.
“It’s showing their appreciation and their support. I don’t know how I can thank the fans.
“It’s really funny how something like this can unite people.”
Petrov’s playing contract is up this summer but manager Paul Lambert has hinted there could be a future coaching role for him at the club.
And he is a regular visitor to the Villa dressing room on match days.
The midfielder added: “I was there at the game against Fulham and I’ve come to a lot of games this season when I’ve had the chance. “I needed to have clearance from the doctors to go around crowded areas, so I constantly needed to be feeling well in order for me to be around people.
“I love coming to the games and I’ll be there for every game until the end of the season.”
Petrov insists Villa must believe they can stay up.
He added: “Villa are in a position at the moment where people say we’re fighting relegation. But so what? You need to believe that you are going to be out of that situation.
“The boys have been showing great character. They are a very young team but they can compete at that level and they want to stay there.
“Yes, the season has gone this way but they’ve kept fighting and in the past few weeks they have played with great confidence.”

SMILES ... Aston Villa captain is keeping his spirits up

Petrov says he has come through the worst of the recovery process.
He added: “I’ve finished all of the high-intensity treatment and from now on I’ll be on the softer treatment, which is two years on tablets.
“It was a very, very long year but now I can go back to a normal life. I can start doing things that I couldn’t do in the last year. I can take the kids to school.
“While the treatment was going on I was surprised how long things were dragging on. I kept thinking, ‘When is this going to finish?’
“But, with a lot of patience and a lot of support from family and friends and everybody, I managed to pull through.”
Petrov revealed some of his plans for the future and said: “First of all, I’m going to spend some time with the family, show them that things are back to normal and feel a bit more comfortable.
“The kids especially have really missed me a lot and they’re happy that I’m home.
“I’m hoping to open my foundation soon and I’m going to start raising money and awareness for leukaemia and different charities.
“I’m just going to keep going and try to start picking up some work.”