Given hails 'leader' Dunne

Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given believes Richard Dunne will have a key role to play in the battle for survival.

Dunne immediately made his presence felt after being sidelined for more than two months with a broken collarbone by helping Villa to clean sheet in Saturday's goalless draw at West Brom. It kept Alex McLeish's side three points above the bottom three ahead of next weekend's home game with Tottenham and the trip to Norwich on the final day of the campaign. Given said: "It was amazing to have Richard Dunne back in the side. He had only trained a couple of times. For him to play was beyond the call of duty. His performance against Albion showed how immense Richard is for the football club. "He is a leader on the pitch and in the dressing room. Even just seeing him with the captain's armband on gave everyone a huge lift before the game. "We are delighted to have him back. It has been a long time since he played and his performance was immense. The headers he got out of the box were crucial and he was also a real leader on the pitch."