GERARD Houllier praised Luke Young’s return to first team football but admitted he was keen for James Collins to boost his defensive options as soon as possible.

The Frenchman, without Collins, Richard Dunne and Carlos Cuellar at Bolton on Saturday, is rapidly running out of centre- halves.

And he lost another when Ciaran Clark picked up his tenth booking of the season at the Reebok – meaning he will miss the games against Wolves on March 19 and the trip to Everton a fortnight later.

The Republic of Ireland international was shown a first-half yellow card after catching Stuart Holden with his arm as the pair challenged for a header just outside the Villa box.

That left him treading a tight-rope against the potent strike pairing of Kevin Davies and Daniel Sturridge and put even more emphasis on Young in his first game since December 6.

Houllier identified the 31-year-old’s display as a highlight. “Young did extremely well,” the Frenchman said. “Don’t forget he has not played since Liverpool, he has been injured and had a set-back.