Aston Villa boss Remi Garde has admitted Micah Richards' status as captain does not guarantee him a first-team place.

The centre-half was on the bench for Villa's last two Premier League games after injuring a foot during a 1-1 draw at Wycombe in the FA Cup.

Garde said:"This is something have to consider. It is not an easy situation because Micah used to be the captain of the team for the start of the season.

"But then I have to consider as well the last two games we played were very interesting in many aspects. I have to be fair with everybody, with every player in my team.

"But this is quite good news for me when I have competition between big players for selection to the starting line-up.

"I know it can be frustrating when you are not selected but once again for me as a manager it is good to have competition. If not, we would be in big trouble."