Aston Villa defender Luke Young was happy to start Sunday’s derby draw with Birmingham City following his recent spell on the sidelines.
Young had been out for a fortnight after picking up a hamstring injury prior to the 0-0 draw at home with Chelsea in mid-October.
The 31-year-old returned ahead of schedule on Sunday for the showdown with Birmingham and hopes to improve after playing the full 90 minutes.
He said: “It was just nice to get back out there and get a game under my belt because I’ve had a frustrating couple of weeks.
Plus point
“The plus point was that I managed to get back a week before I probably felt I would. I pushed on the last couple of days and managed to start.”
Meanwhile, Young also praised the derby performance of rookie defender Ciaran Clark, who was employed in an unaccustomed holding midfield role by manager Gerard Houllier.
Young said: “The goals are not coming for us at the minute, but I think a big plus was Ciaran Clark’s performance in the centre of midfield.
“The manager has spotted something there that no-one else saw and he was brilliant. It looks like a role he could fill for us.
“We had a few jokes that when Birmingham got our team sheet that they would think we were probably going to play three at the back or something like that.
“I think we all believe Ciaran is a good ball player and he showed that and played really well.”
