Aston Villa: Ciaran Clark is delighted to get a chance with first team
CIARAN Clark was delighted to get another solid performace under his belt despite nerves nearly getting the better of him.
The 21-year-old was thrown into the action after just 12 minutes against Chelsea last weekend when Richard Dunne was forced off early in the game.
Dunne needed four stitches in his ankle and was quickly replaced by the young centre-half.
Many thought manager Gerard Houllier would opt for the more experienced Carlos Cuellar in such a big game, but his decision to go with Clark paid off.
He put in an impressive display alongside James Collins and could even have found himself on the scoresheet in the second half had the post not prevented him from opening the scores.
“It was a good game,” said Clark.
“I was told I was on the bench and you never know what can happen. Richy (Dunne) went down and the manager told me to go and warm up.
“There was a lot of pressure but when you get out there you just need to get your head down.
“You can’t think ‘I’m playing against big players’. You’ve just got to get on with it and we came out with a draw and everyone did very well.
“There were a few nerves when I was running up and down the touchline. But I got on and got a few early touches.
