James Collins focuses on Wales

Villa manager Gerard Houllier revealed last week action had to be taken against Collins and Richard Dunne following a row with coaching staff at a health spa.

Collins has since apologised but he does not want to dwell on the incident while he is focusing on Wales for the next few days.

The 27-year-old hopes to play his part in a famous victory against England on Saturday, saying: "Has it done me good to come away? Yes, it has.

"It has obviously been a difficult couple of weeks at the club for various reasons.

"Obviously what happened was not great and it is not something I want to go into at the moment.

"It is just ideal to come away here and concentrate on one thing, which is getting three points for Wales."

Collins believes the future is bright for Wales and has paid tribute to new manager Gary Speed for his hard work in creating a fantastic team spirit since taking charge in December.

He added: "Everything has been stepped up. It sounds silly, but it is even little things like we are all wearing the same tops around the hotel.

"The preparation before training, stretching, everything. The staff have obviously worked at various clubs and brought those things with them.

"You can sense it is more of a club atmosphere. Even at dinner the guys are sitting around chatting and getting to know each other more than ever, which will obviously help on the pitch.

"There's a lot of banter going round in training, the younger boys are having more and more to say, which is a good sign.

"And the training has been stepped up in terms of intensity, organisation and enthusiasm.

"It all seems to have gone up so hopefully we can take that into the game."