Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark has admitted that he has been left in the dark by Giovanni Trapattoni over his decision not to call him up for the Republic of Ireland.

Clark has been a regular feature of Paul Lambert's side in the early weeks of the Premier League season, but failed to earn a place in the Ireland squad for their opening World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan.

The 22-year-old told ESPN: "I have to be honest and say I have no idea what is happening for me with Ireland because the manager and his staff seemed very keen to get me on board at the start and now nothing seems to be happening for me.

"There are not too many Irish centre-backs playing in the Premier League at the moment, so you would think that would stand me in good stead, but the manager is picking other people at the moment and I have no idea what I need to do to get back in."

Clark has only been called up once by Trapattoni since making his debut in February 2011 against Wales.