By Dan Harrison 

Ciaran Clark has vowed to battle to keep his starting place for Thursday's Europa League play-off against Rapid Vienna - after impressing in the win over West Ham United.

The defender was among the standout performers in his second Premier League start on Saturday.

But, with the likes of Carlos Cuellar, James Collins and Curtis Davies hoping to return to full fitness, Clark admits he faces a tall order to retain his place in the starting XI.

It is a challenge that does not faze Clark, who will do his utmost in training to convince caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald he is worthy of an extended run in the centre of Villa's defence.

"It will be hard," said Clark. "There are a lot of good players in our squad now. No-one is has a right to their place.

"Everyone has got to fight for it and I'm sure everyone will fight for a place in the team for Thursday, leading up in training.

"But it will be a tough game no matter who plays. It will be very intimidating with the fans.

"They will make it very hard for us but if we play like we did against West Ham, I think we have got a good chance."

Clark was part of the Villa squad who travelled to Vienna for last season's first leg play-off meeting.

Although the 20-year-old did not feature in the 1-0 defeat, he experienced the cauldron of noise at the Gerhard Hanappi Stadium.

While he expects another intimidating atmosphere this time around, Clark insists Villa will go into the clash with greater confidence after an emphatic performance against the Hammers.

"The Vienna fans made it very hard for us and it was intimidating," he added.

"We just need to get our heads down and if we play like we did against West Ham, we should be ok.

"I think it is always important to get off to a good start in your first game. All the boys have played well in pre-season, fitness levels are up now and we've won the first game. We are just looking to push on now."