Express & Star

Kortney Hause hails John Terry's impact on Aston Villa's improving defence

Defensive ace Kortney Hause has credited coach John Terry with helping him make a seamless switch to the “wrong side” of Villa’s backline.

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The left-footed Hause has found himself playing in the unfamiliar position of right-sided centre-back following an injury to Tommy Elphick earlier this month.

But the 23-year-old has excelled in the role, with Villa winning three games in the space of seven days and keeping two clean sheets to move into the Championship top six.

Hause revealed how the advice of former England skipper Terry had been instrumental.

He said: “I’ve been looking at my clips with John and he’s been helping me a lot because he played on the opposite side, being right-footed playing on the left.

“He’s helped me a lot dealing with things on and off the ball so it hasn’t been too much of a problem for me.

“I’ve played on the left (of central defence before) on the right it is very different. To be fair, I’ve felt comfortable and I’d like to think I’m confident and comfortable on the ball.”

Villa, who at one stage last month held the Championship’s second-worst defensive record, have now kept three clean sheets in the last four games.

Hause, who joined on loan from Wolves in January, explained: “We’ve been working hard with John (Terry) in training.

“It’s just the finer details, covering positions, just making sure we are staying on the person next to us so everyone is switched on an focused.

“What we’ve been practicing in training, we’ve been doing in games and the results are showing.”

Saturday’s 3-0 win over Middlesbrough, Villa’s fourth on the spin, continued an impressive run of form for Hause, who has now made more appearances since January than he did in the previous 18 months at Wolves.

He added: “Any player will tell you, you can only train so much. You need to be out there playing games and you need to be in game situations.

“I’m getting that at Villa. I feel as if I’m dealing with it okay. I always expect more from myself but with more games, I’m only going to get better and gain more experience.

“Even though I’m not happy when I don’t play, I still want the players to do well. They are my team-mates, my friends and if they win, I win. I do get a pleasure out of that.

“But most certainly being a player and going out there and contributing in front of the fans, you want to do that.”