Zat Knight insists there's no substitute for playing after breaking his way back into Villa's starting line-up.

Knight revealed he didn't feel "part of it" earlier in the season as he played second fiddle to Martin Laursen and Curtis Davies.

But Laursen's knee injury gave the former Fulham man his chance and he has grabbed it with both hands.

He said: "The big thing for me is to be playing again.

"For the first half of the season, I wasn't really involved. There were times when I felt a bit distanced from it all, even though I was on the bench.

"When the team won, I didn't really feel part of it, although I did when we lost - I was punished along with the rest of the lads on the training pitch, with all that running!

"But during the second half of the season I've really felt involved.

"People are talking about us and saying we can get that Champions League spot. There certainly seems no reason why not.

"We deserve to be fourth in the table. We have been very consistent all season, and that's what you need. It hasn't been an up and down season."