James Bree was handed a rare start for Aston Villa this weekend as they looked to collect the points that could push them into second place.

Instead, the slipped to a 1-0 defeat courtesy of Bolton's Adam Le Fondre in near blizzard conditions at the Macron Stadium.

Bree, a 20-year old brought in from Barnsley last season, made was handed his first appearance since January 6th. How did the right back do in only his eighth start for his club?

He played all 90 minutes, which he'll be delighted to get under his belt. It's only his second outing since September last year, having got a run out in the FA Cup against Peterborough in January. Whilst minutes on the pitch are all well and good, what you do with the time is equally as important.

The stats don't look too impressive in some areas.

In the whole game Bree made just one tackle, but committed two fouls.

Was it a case of a nervous young player looking to not put a foot wrong, or did Bolton threaten little down the left hand side, at times leaving him with little to do?

He managed six clearances throughout the game, so he didn't go missing completely at the back. That tackle statistic doesn't look great, but it doesn't tell the whole picture either.

In this day and age a full back is often asked to be as creative as he is defensive and Bree certainly got amongst the passes.

He made a whopping 43 passes in the game, impressive alone, but when you consider he had a 72% completion rate, it looks even better. Indeed, he got forward to such an extent that keeper Ben Alnwick had to make a last minute save from him, denying Villa the equaliser.

The stats show the changing perception of what a right back should be doing, even in a 4-1-4-1 formation which Villa took to Bolton.

Albert Adomah was up ahead of him supposedly taking on the attacking role, but Bree was expected to get beyond him on the overlap. Bolton played a narrow 4-2-31 which perhaps accounts for the lack of defensive action the youngster was involved in.

Overall, a solid performance and one which will give Steve Bruce plenty of food for thought.