[theo kawala]

Chris Sutton believes he has nothing to prove despite being rescued from the football wilderness for a second time by Martin O'Neill.

The 33-year-old striker, who can also operate in central defence, has signed for Aston Villa until the end of the season.

The former England international has been a free agent since being released by Villa's arch-rivals Birmingham at the end of last season but is now reunited with O'Neill, whom he played under at Celtic.

"I'm pleased it's all sorted out now and I'm looking forward to getting started at Villa," Sutton told the club's official website, www.avfc.co.uk.

It is the second time O'Neill has come to Sutton's aid at an uncertain time in his career.

Six years ago, he became one of the Northern Irishman's first signings at Celtic after his £10million move to Chelsea lasted just one season.

It is testament to O'Neill's faith in Sutton that he has signed him while the forward is still recovering from a groin surgery.

However, with Luke Moore ruled out for the season after dislocating a shoulder at the weekend, Sutton is also doing the Villa boss a favour on this occasion.

He becomes the third former Celtic player to join the O'Neill regime at Villa Park, with midfielder Stiliyan Petrov and defender Didier Agathe already on board.

Sutton is hoping this connection will help him settle quickly.

"Hopefully, I can fit in fairly well and knowing Stiliyan Petrov and Didier Agathe will obviously help," he said.

"I don't feel I've got a point to prove. I just want to do well. First and foremost, I want to get fully fit and get into contention.

"I'll hopefully do that sooner rather than later and the aim is to soon be pushing for a starting place.

"Obviously, I want to be fit as soon as I can. I had an operation a while back and I'm still recovering from that."

Sutton began his career with Norwich before making what was then a British record £5million move to Blackburn, where he formed a prolific partnership with Alan Shearer that fired Rovers to the 1995 Premiership title.

His 1999 move to Chelsea may not have worked out but a £6million switch north of the border proved a success.

The striker became a key figure in Celtic ending Glasgow rivals Rangers' dominance of the domestic game, and he returned to England in January boasting three Scottish Premier League titles, three Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups, and a UEFA Cup runners-up medal.

He was also named Scottish players' player of the year in 2004.

However, he was unable to rescue Birmingham from the drop last season, his only goal in 10 appearances ironically coming in a 3-1 derby defeat at Villa Park.