BOLTON defender Gary Cahill admitted he was glad to finally show his former club, Villa, exactly what he was made of on Saturday.

The 25-year-old had failed to beat Villa in five previous attempts since moving to the Reebok Stadium in 2008.

But he made amends with a solid performance and two important goals to inflict further misery on his old club.

“The last few times I’ve played against them I’ve had absolute stinkers, let’s be honest,” he said.

“The tide had to turn a little bit for me. In the away game last season it was probably my worst performance as a professional. To do it at Villa Park was a big blow.

“But when someone kicks you, you try to come back stronger and kick on. So, yes, I really did feel I had something to prove.”

Former Albion boss Gary Megson beat Villa’s bitter rivals, Blues, to Cahill’s signature three years ago and since his move he has become a full England international.

At the time under Martin O’Neill, Cahill had found himself fourth-choice central defender at Villa behind Martin Laursen, Curtis Davies and Zat Knight.

But the move to Lancashire helped him gain international recognition, and in recent months he has been linked with a big-money move to Manchester United and Arsenal.

Cahill, who started his career in the Midlands, still speaks to some of the Villa players and admitted it was great to see some of the youngsters getting their chance to shine for the first team.

“It’s nice to see the likes of (Marc) Albrighton and (Ciaran) Clark playing because they were just youngsters when I was there,” he said.