I'll get best out of Ireland - Lambert

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has hailed the quality of Stephen Ireland and is determined to get the best out of the midfielder.

Ireland was left out of the starting line-up for the weekend defeat by Everton but produced a man-of-the-match performance in the 3-0 home triumph over Tranmere in the Capital One Cup. The former Manchester City player set up the opening two goals for Fabian Delph and Chris Herd and also linked up effectively with Darren Bent. Ireland has not always shown his true form since signing two years ago - although he is the current supporters' player of the year - but Lambert is keen to rectify that situation. He said: "Stephen is a naturally gifted footballer, really naturally gifted. I don't know what happened to him the last bit (of his time here), but it is up to us to get the best out of him. He is a really talented player, really clever. We have to pull together what he is capable of as a team. The team is always more important than the individual. "You are only as good as the person next to you. I'm a great believer in that. We need Steven and Steven needs the team to help him but he is a really talented footballer."