On february 2012 · Sky Sports
Villa defender happy to play whatever role in order to help club
Aston Villa defender Carlos Cuellar admits he is happy to play at left-back if it enables him to retain a first-team place.
Villa boss Alex McLeish has been under considerable pressure to replace out-of-form left-back Stephen Warnock in recent weeks.
And 30-year-old Cuellar became Warnock's replacement as he stepped into the role for a baptism of fire against league leaders Manchester City.
The Spaniard, who normally plies his trade at centre-half, moved to play at left-back for the first time since he was 18-years-old but, despite taking a short time to settle in, Cuellar earned the man of the match accolade for his performance.
"It's been a long, long time since I played left-back," he told the Birmingham Mail. "I used to play there when I was 18 - that's a long time ago.
"You have to find the position at the start with your first few touches just to feel natural and comfortable.
Natural
"But after five minutes, I felt totally fine with the ball and with the defensive side, too. I enjoyed playing there. I was obviously not happy with the result but, in the end, I enjoyed playing there. But I will play anywhere.
"If you give me some gloves, I will play in goal - anything for the good of the team.
"For me, the best feeling is being in the first XI. I don't care where I play. Of course, everyone knows my natural position is centre-back but for the team I will play anywhere."
Cuellar, who is serving in his fourth year for the claret and blues, almost found his name on the score-sheet against City, too but squandered the chance to earn his side a point when a late header went over the crossbar.
"It was a good chance and I thought it wasn't a bad header," he added. "I thought the ball was coming higher and when I saw I noticed it was lower than I realised and I reacted it was too late. The ball went over. It was a good opportunity.
"Joe Hart made a good save from Darren Bent, too. We created good opportunities and I think we deserved the draw. But we aren't getting much luck. They scored from nowhere.
Proud
"I think we have to be proud of the performance. We played a good game and we were strong and solid and we created some good chances towards the end of the second half.
"I don't think we deserved to lose. I think the draw was a fair result."
Cuellar has continued to show his dedication to the club with a determination to help the team drive forward even when he has been unable to make the starting line-up by adding a competitive element to training to pressurise the regular starters.
"The first thing is helping the team every day in training," he said.
"If you play well at Bodymoor you are helping the team, because you're putting pressure on the other players and their quality is rising, too.
"You are improving yourself and helping others improve, too. It's not easy to get into the first team."
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