For the first time in his career, Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies is having to get used to playing second fiddle to others and the 22-year-old admits it is an extremely frustrating time.

The England Under-21 International admits he is finding it hard to deal with the lack of opportunities coming his way so far at Villa Park.

But he is also desperate to assure fans he is ready and willing to seize his chance at a moment's notice should he be called upon by manager Martin O'Neill.

And if that call should come in this week-end's big Second City derby against Birmingham City at St Andrew's, Davies says he knows exactly what will be expected of him in what could be a real pressure cooker atmosphere of a game.

Davies, who was snapped up by Villa in the summer from West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan with the view to a permanent deal, has never had to watch so many games from the sidelines before.

Since starting his career at Luton Town he has pretty much always been an ever-present first teamer, making more than 50 appearances for the Hatters and more than 60 for the Baggies. But Davies knows competition is fierce at Villa where the defence once again ensured a clean sheet at Villa Park in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Derby County.

Davies came on for the last few minutes of the game to rapturous applause from fans in the Holte End and he is desperate for more of the same.

He said: "The reception when I came on was great but I'd rather get that reception from the beginning, I'd guess. It is one of those things but I felt that was more of a cameo appearance than actually needing to bring me on.

"It has been frustrating - I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to pretend I'm delighted with the situation but it is one of those things you have to deal with in football."

Davies knows he faces a fight to get into the side with centre-halves Zat Knight and Martin Laursen currently in possession of the jerseys. With Laursen now fully fit and in the form of his career so far this season, Davies will just have to bide his time.

"We have got strong centre-halves here and unfortunately when I came here I was injured and they've kept themselves in the team," said Davies. "It is one of those things.

"I can only do what I am doing and keep playing well in the reserves and training and hopefully I'll get the nod.

"Martin O'Neill has told me to be ready if called upon. It is just one of those things. I can only do so much before the call comes and if the call comes, I will be ready and hopefully it comes soon.

"This is the first time I've not been a first teamer since I've been a professional. I've never been on the bench once since I've been a pro and I've come here and I've been on the bench all of the time so it is frustrating and a weird time for me.

"But that's football. That is the step you have to take and it is a challenge. If you melt in these situations, you are never going to reach the top of your game so for me. If I want to fulfil my potential and fulfil my dreams of playing for England, then I need to be better than those players here. This is the first step.

"If I am totally honest, even if I did well in the reserves and scored four goals, it doesn't really make a difference because if the first team lads do well then they will keep their place.

"It is for them to lose it, rather than for me to win it, especially in defence.

"If you are a striker, maybe you can score a hat-trick in the reserves and maybe you will have a look-in, but as a defender you can only do your job. I will just have to wait."

Davies knows all about derbies, having played against Watford with Luton Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers with West Brom, and he would love the chance to become an overnight hero for Villa against Blues this Sunday.

"It would be nice to make my first Premier League start in the derby," he said. "We had a behind-closed doors game with Blues the other day and Villa won 4-3.

"Blues put a strong team out but we did really well. If we play well, like we have been doing, I don't see why we can't win the game on Sunday."