James Collins is backing Nigel Reo-Coker to earn back his Aston Villa place.

Collins and Reo-Coker were team-mates at West Ham United, have renewed acquaintances at Villa Park this season.

"I was at West Ham with Nigel Reo-Coker and I've known him for a while now," the Welsh defender told the Birmingham Mail. "I knew Nigel as a young boy. He was only probably 20 when I first met him and you could see straight away that he was a class act.

"In training, he was a fantastic player and I had two seasons with him where he did exceptionally well for West Ham. He's come here and for whatever reason it hasn't quite worked out as well as he'd have liked, but deep down I know that he's a fantastic player.

"I'm sure if he gets the chance, he'll come out on top. Nigel's still a very young player. I'm sure he's looking forward to the year coming up at Aston Villa and I'm sure he'll show us his best form."