Wilfred Bouma ready to fight for left-back spot at Villa

Sep 17 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

WILFRED Bouma insists he is ready for his three-way battle with fellow left-backs Stephen Warnock and Nicky Shorey for Villa’s No.3 role.

Villa have signed Shorey and Warnock since Bouma dislocated his ankle and the Dutch defender faces a tough task to reclaim his first-team place.

But Bouma, who is closing in on a return to action after a lay-off of more than a year, is excited by the added competition in Martin O’Neill’s squad.

“It will be emotional when I put that Villa shirt on again and that’s my aim and ambition,” he said.

“When I’m back as part of the team on a match-day, whether starting or on the bench, it will be tremendous.

“I am relishing the competition. Stephen is a good full-back. You can see he’s a good player from what he did when he was at Blackburn.