Cahill Up For The Challenge

Gary Cahill has said he will fight to keep his place despite the increase in competition for places following the return to fitness of Martin Laursen and the ever present threat of Liam Ridgewell.

He told the official site 'I'm confident I can keep my place. I want to thank the manager for sticking by me. I've had a run of games now and it helps with consistency to play on a regular basis. Hopefully I can stay in the team and improve. My partnership with Olof has flourished. I think defensively we've been good. Freddy has done excellently at left back but then all the lads who've played have been impressive.'

'There's competition for places now too which keeps players on their toes. I'm certainly enjoying my time in the side and long may it continue. I've got Liam and Martin breathing down my neck but then again, there's competition throughout the squad. It's imperative for everybody to play well. Phil Bardsley has made a real impact. He's a good defender - particularly one on one. I've seen that in training He's confident on the ball and he defends well. He brings a lot to the team and he's a good lad off the field too.'

The lucky buggers are all off to training camp in Spain next week as Villa don't play again until March 3rd at Craven Cottage v Fulham (obviously!)

Cahill is taking the positives out of the break adding: 'It's a strange time of year. We've got to keep ticking along fitness-wise. We've played a lot of games so far this season, so at least this break gives us a good opportunity to rest up and be ready for when the games come thick and fast again.'

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