GARY Cahill insists he has nothing against the man who nearly cost him his starting place against Aston Villa tomorrow.

It has been quite a week for the Wanderers and England defender, who was sent off by referee Stuart Attwell in farcical circumstances at White Hart Lane last weekend, only to see the red card overturned at an FA appeal.

Few in Bolton circles have had a good word to say about the Nuneaton official over the last seven days, but somewhat surprisingly, Cahill himself shows no signs of animosity whatsoever.

“It’s well documented that the decision was the wrong one, but I really like Stuart as a person,” the 25-year-old said.

“I would have been really surprised if it hadn’t been overturned.

“First off, it was a bad decision of mine to take the ball back inside, but having done that I took the decision to take the yellow card.

“I was amazed to get sent off but it was a mistake and everyone makes them. It has been rectified now, so I can play against Villa on Saturday, so we can all move on.”

The in-demand centre-back reckons his dismissal summed up the kind of luck Wanderers are currently enduring at the wrong end of the Premier League table.

The effect of injuries and suspensions have been magnified by poor results and inconsistent performances, but echoing his manager’s words from earlier this week, Cahill wants to draw a line under the first 14 games and re-boot what has been a poor campaign to date, “We have got five massive games now,” he said.

“The manager has told us that, and stressed just how important they are. We need results now.

“It does feel like little things are going against us. We’re not making excuses, but as well as the luck, the injuries this season have been phenomenal. Key players, big players have been sorely missed.

“But everyone is aware of how important this run is going into Christmas and more importantly, everyone is aware of where we are in the table.”

As one of a handful of former Villa stars, Cahill has an added incentive for making Saturday the day Wanderers finally reverse the slump for good.

He scored twice the last time the Midlanders came to the Reebok, finally exorcising the ghost of two dreadful performances against his old club in the previous two seasons.

“I put it right last time with the two goals,” he said. “But the last two years I’ve had nightmares against them.

“I’ve put it to bed now and even though they are my old team, I don’t have that feeling that I’ve just left.”

Wanderers beat a strong Villa side in the Carling Cup in September but Cahill – captain on the night in Kevin Davies’s absence – did not have to contend with his England colleague Darren Bent, who he agrees adds an extra dimension to Alex McLeish’s side.

“Darren didn’t play last time,” he said. “But he’s a striker I really rate because of his instincts for getting goals.

“I think he’s one of those who you think you are defending well. You get comfortable and think you’ve got him in your back pocket, but then you switch off for a second and he scores a goal.

“He needs one chance and that’s what he’s done all the way through his career, taking it into England too.

“He’s got a couple of goals recently at international level too so he’s definitely one you wouldn’t want to take your eye off.”