Irish under-21 striker Alan Lee was probably feeling a little stressed himself last week when he heard that Stan Collymore was no longer able to deal with the pressures of earning £20,000 a week. Lee had been getting his first taste of league football at Torquay, where he was on loan from Villa, and was looking forward to his third month at the club when Collymore's stress levels forced John Gregory to insist on him returning to Villa Park.

On Saturday he took Collymore's place on the bench for Villa at St James' Park when Torquay, who want to sign him in a permanent deal, could have done with the 20-year-old's services at Southend, where they drew 0-0.

Division One: Niall Quinn (right) scored his 14th goal of the season for Sunderland on Saturday in a 2-1 defeat away to Watford while his occasional Irish partner Keith O'Neill made his comeback from injury for Norwich in their 20 loss at Bolton.

Division Two: Irish under-18 captain Gary Doherty scored for Luton in their 2-2 draw with Bournemouth and under-21 winger Peter Gain, on loan from Spurs, made a brief league debut for Lincoln, coming on as a 90th minute substitute, having played for them midweek in an Auto Windscreens Shield match.

Division Three: Danny Boxall got his first goal of the season for Brentford, but it counted for nothing in a 4-1 defeat by Cardiff, for whom Kevin Nugent scored his 15th of the season, making him the top Irish scorer in Britain. Lee Power was on the score-sheet too for Halifax, but they lost 4-2 at home to Rotherham.