Curtis Davies is determined to keep his place in Aston Villa's defence.

Villa face a gruelling seven games in 21 days - starting at Tottenham on Monday - and Davies knows he is under pressure from Zat Knight and new boy Carlos Cuellar.

But he said: "If the shirt is yours, it's more yours to lose.

"Carlos hasn't come here to sit on the bench and Zat wants a place back in the team.

"I need to keep on top of my game. But competition breeds success and if you're not up it, someone else will deserve to take your place."