Villa midfielder Fabian Delph will head to Blackburn insisting – ‘I am no bad boy.’

The teenager is expected to slot into Villa’s midfield at Ewood Park tomorrow if Steve Sidwell fails a fitness test, with Nigel Reo-Coker now seemingly out of favour with boss Martin O’Neill.

And the £7million summer signing from Leeds was outstanding on his return to the side in Wednesday’s Carling Cup victory over Cardiff.

But the disciplinary demons which have blighted the England under-21 star’s fledgling career – he picked up 13 yellow cards last season – were again apparent after he was booked for the second time in three starts this term.

Delph said: “I love to tackle, probably a bit too much. To be fair, I can be a bit over-enthusiastic but I’m not that much of a bad boy.

“I got 13 yellow cards last year, which was slightly better than when I played in the reserve team before that season!

“It’s a part of my game I need to improve on. I need to be more disciplined because obviously it’s a better standard. It’s miles better, well above League One.

“If you go to ground you tend to get sent off or played around. It’s not that I’m a dirty player, but if there’s a tackle to be won I don’t mind going in and trying to win the ball fairly.”

Should the 19-year-old get the nod, he will again find himself alongside skipper Stiliyan Petrov and Delph admits he has already learnt some valuable lessons from the Bulgarian.

The teenager said: “He’s an unbelievable player. He is really relaxed, he knows everything that’s around him, he loves to get on the ball.

“I’ve already learned not to get too tight to him, because he left me on my backside a couple of times! But I think I can learn from him and a lot of the players.”