Former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell has no complaints over his stop-start season at Aston Villa.

He said: "You want to be part of the team, you want to be playing week in and week out, breaking records, achieving something for this club.

"Everytime you are left out, it is hard but you have got to take it on the chin, bounce back when you get a chance and see what happens.

"I wasn't really surprised when I was left out of the side. I probably saw it coming. I've been disappointed with my form. I've not been playing as well as I can do.

"The gaffer needs his best players playing and if you are not performing, you go out of the team and you wait a chance to get back in.

"I missed a lot of pre-season, I was playing catch-up, was at a new club. It is a lot of excuses but at the end of the day you've got to dig deep and try as hard as you can and see where it goes."