Craig Gardner is determined to fight for his place in the Aston Villa Football Club side.

The England Under-21 international was heavily linked with a move away from the club in the summer, but he remains in Martin O’Neill’s squad and is desperate to win a regular place in the side.

“There is a lot of competition for places. My preferred position is central midfield and we have Stiliyan Petrov, Fabian Delph, Steve Sidwell and Nigel Reo-Coker,” said Gardner.

"It is very hard to compete against players like that but I'm not the kind to roll over. I intend to keep fighting for a place. We will just have to see what happens. All I can do is keep working hard.”