Collins looking to show his defensive class at Swansea

By Paul Brown

James Collins aims to put "my worst performance in a Villa shirt" behind him and show his defensive class against Swansea on Sunday.

Collins admitted being "bitterly disappointed" with his own display at Tottenham.

And he insists he must improve or lose his place in the side.

Asked whether he was hurting, he said: "Definitely. It's not been a good week.

"I was bitterly disappointed with my performance on Monday.

"The good thing about football though is that I've got this afternoon to bounce back and show everyone what I can do.

"It was the worst game I've played in a Villa shirt. It is disappointing because it was at a time when we thought we could move on.

"But the key is not thinking about the bad games too much otherwise there can be a lack of confidence going into the next game.

"The good thing about being at a club this big is that you have competition for places.

"Carlos has come back and is spot on and we all know what sort of player Ciaran is and they're breathing down my neck and that's an added thing. I have to perform or I will be out of the team."

One of the key aspects Collins wants to see is a deep determination in the way Villa go about their task at the Liberty Stadium.

He accepted the criticism that Villa didn't get in the faces of Tottenham enough in the previous match.

He added: "We had a big discussion in the changing room. Individually and as a team we knew we weren't good enough on Monday. I think it needed to be talked about and it has been talked about and sorted.

"I think it got mentioned that we were a bit far off them, if that makes sense. You can't be like that against teams like that.

"That's what we spoke about. We have to get in people's faces and make tackles. I think Dunny said in the changing room that we couldn't remember one strong tackle in the game and that's something that we are working on.

"It will be a tricky one against Swansea. We have to improve form Monday. We have to get in their faces and get in some tackles so hopefully we can stem the flow."

Click here to buy Manchester United tickets.

Click here for party invites, personalised hardback notebooks and much, much more.

Swansea City v Aston Villa