Ciaran Clark has backed himself to handle the big occasion again when called upon by boss Gerard Houllier.Clark was an early substitute in the game against Chelsea and impressed with a confident display, shutting out the likes of Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda.He says the fact the manager backed him to handle the situation shows he is making progress.He said: "It was a good game. I was told I was on the bench and you never know what can happen."Richey (Dunne) went down and the manager told me to go and warm up."There was a lot of pressure but when you get out there you just need to get your head down."You can't think 'I'm playing against big players.' You've just got to get on with it and we came out with a draw and everyone done well."There were a few nerves when I was running up and down the touch-line. But when I got on and got a few touches, I was good."I nearly scored. I turned around and I thought it was in but it came out off the inside of a post and I was a bit devastated. But it is just great to be out there."It is progress and it all looks good. When you play against top teams like Chelsea, it is good to have on your CV."Clark, of course, has committed his international future to the Republic of Ireland.The London-born player informed FAI chiefs he wanted to be considered, even though he captained England at under-19 and under-20 levels."I did it for myself and my family. My family have done a lot for me over the years since I was a little boy and I owe them a lot so I've done it for them."My mum is from Ireland and all the family and the dad's side of the family, Irish all over the place."Dunney mentioned it to Ireland and they looked into it and got in contact with me and the club and they gave me time to think about it and about my decision."If all the paperwork has gone through by the next game, I'll be in contention so fingers crossed that happens. You just keep working hard and see what happens."They contacted me a week or so after the first game of the season. They gave me time to think it over and talk with the family and I've made my decision."I've been at Villa since I was 12. I came through the youth side. I grew up in London and then moved to Bedford when I was a young age and lived there since with my family."I didn't think I was going anywhere with England really and when a young lad gets an opportunity like this, it is hard to turn down."
