Alan Hutton has been hailed as the best right-back in Britain following his match-winning strike at the weekend by his Aston Villa manager, Paul Lambert.
Alan Hutton has been hailed as the best right-back in Britain following his match-winning strike at the weekend by his Aston Villa manager, Paul Lambert. Hutton scored the decisive goal in the 71st minute of Sunday's 2-1 victory over Leicester City, the only time he has found the target for Villa. The high-earning Scotland internationalist has been brought back in to the fold this season after being frozen out for more than two years due to financial constraints at the club. The former Rangers defender, who had been loaned out in that time to Nottingham Forest, Real Mallorca and Bolton Wanderers, has impressed so much since then that he signed a new three-year contract at Villa back in September. And, while he confessed that Hutton ran the risk of a red card after a confrontation with Leicester's Paul Konchesky, who was sent-off, Lambert insists the right-back has never had anything to prove to him or the Birmingham club. He said: "I'm delighted for Alan because I think he's playing as well as any right back in the country at the moment. "It was a brilliant goal, he gives you that strength there, he's up and down, a really really fit lad. He's a really good footballer as well. "Strangely enough, I've always had a good relationship with him and I said to him 'if I can help you go out on loan I'll help on that side of it'. "Obviously, he went over to Spain and to Forest. He was coming into his last year and I thought I'm going to sit with him and speak to him. Good as gold, he was so easy to deal with. I'm delighted it's worked out, especially for him. "He's got nothing to prove. I don't think he needs to make up for lost time. He's going well with the national team. They're in a good position to try to qualify for the Euros. "He's playing really well here, he had a good career at Rangers, he's played at big clubs before. Alan's got nothing to prove to me. He's won things, he's a top player. "I think he's really enjoying his football and long may it continue."
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