Football
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Ciaran Clark defends Aston Villa's record of red cards this season

Ciaran Clark has defended Aston Villa's disciplinary record and insisted he will always stick up for his teammates.

The centre-back became Villa's fifth player to be sent off this season after a scuffle at Leicester -- which saw the club fined and warned by the FA for the third time this term.

They were hit with a 60,000 pound fine after tempers flared following Matty James' reckless tackle on Jores Okore late in the Foxes' 1-0 win this month, with Clark dismissed for grappling with James.

Villa were previously punished following players' reactions to Christian Benteke's and Gabriel Agbonlahor's red cards against Tottenham and Manchester United respectively.

But Clark, back from a ban for Sunday's FA Cup fourth round visit of Bournemouth, insisted Villa will always back each other up.

"We are a tight team. We don't want to see anyone getting hurt or left alone so we stick up for each other," he said.

"It shows we are all fighting for each other and all it in together. It's not just one man on their own here. We are a team and when tackles go in like that against your mate it's not nice to see.

"In the heat of the moment you react in a certain way. I wanted to let my frustration go [at Leicester] but I let it get the better of me. I didn't raise a hand but I reacted in an aggressive manner, which is a booking these days.

"That's the only the second red of my career. I got one two years ago against Everton.

"Looking back I'd still want to get in there and help my mate but maybe next time I will take half a second to think about it first.

"A couple of the decisions we've had against us have been a bit harsh."

Kieran Richardson and Fabian Delph have also been sent off this term, along with Benteke, while Agbonlahor's red was rescinded after an appeal.

The dismissals have contributed to Villa winning only three of their last 19 games in all competitions to sit just three points above the Premier League relegation zone.

A section of supporters have called for the sacking of manager Paul Lambert but Clark believes the players need to ease the pressure on the Scot.

"The manager does take a lot of the flak when the results aren't going our way," said the Republic of Ireland international. "The manager's good like that, he will step in and take all the flak for it.

"I think It's time for us to step up and start taking a lot of the responsibility ourselves. The manager can only do so much in the week. Whoever is in that 18-man squad needs to be taking more responsibility."

Championship leaders Bournemouth are the country's top scorers with 57 in the league while Villa have only hit 11, the lowest in the top four divisions.

The Cherries have also netted more league goals in Birmingham than their hosts, who have scored seven, thanks to their 8-0 win at Birmingham City in October.

Clark is wary of an upset but is confident Villa -- who are without Ron Vlaar (knee) and Philippe Senderos (calf) -- should progress.

"For the underdog it's a win-win and the pressure is on the team expected to win. It will be on us but we want to go out there and do it for ourselves, the staff and management," he said.

"If we can go out there and get a win and take the positives into the next games we'll be full of confidence.

"We know we have a tough fixture list with Arsenal and Chelsea but it's a good chance to get a positive result and take that forward."

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