Ireland told to up his game

Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has told midfielder Stephen Ireland he must up his work rate if he wants to become a first-team regular.
The 24-year-old was overlooked for Villa's derby with city rivals Birmingham as the Frenchman opted to use rookie central defender Ciaran Clark in a midfield role in preference to Ireland.
Ireland's Villa form has been sporadic and he paid the price for two below-par displays in their previous two matches against Sunderland and then Burnley in the Carling Cup.
Houllier knows Ireland is a quality midfielder, but thinks that until the former Manchester City man works harder on the pitch he will continue to find himself out of the first-team picture more often than not.
"Ireland needs to work harder. He played against Chelsea and did well, he played against Sunderland and was not good enough to me - simple as that," explained Houllier.
"He needs to work harder. The skill is one thing but you need to compete.
"It is a difficult period for him. We support him, we back him. He comes to a new club and there is a change of manager in between."
The Frenchman added: "We know he is a good player but I don't want to have a situation where you say 'he is a good player, but....'
"If you say 'he is a good player but he doesn't defend, he doesn't run back, he loses too many balls in crucial areas', then that is difficult.
"He needs to get rid of these 'buts' about him and be a good player. He needs to work harder in games."

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