SCOTTISH star Don Hutchison could pay for his on-field indiscipline this season by starting tomorrow's tough game at Aston Villa on the bench.

The 29-year-old Tynesider missed last week's 1-0 home win over Chelsea - regarded by manager Peter Reid as his side's best performance of the season - through a one-match suspension, and the Wearside boss made it clear that the £2.5m signing is not guaranteed an automatic recall.

His replacement against the Londoners, Alex Rae, who missed the first four games through a ban carried forward from last season, had an excellent game and the other central midfield position is being held down well by the versatile Darren Williams.

Reid admitted: "Don Hutchison is available, but Alex Rae was outstanding against Chelsea and I have a problem.

"Darren Williams has been breaking things up for us in midfield and while Hutchison was coming into form before the suspension it is a difficult decision for me.

"But it is part of my job. I think players don't accept it, but it is a fact of life - you can only play 11 and someone is going to be disappointed."

Reid was not at all happy to have lost the services of Hutchison against Chelsea because the player had accumulated five bookings, three of them for dissent.

He said: "This is a difficult one because we were outstanding against Chelsea. It was without doubt our best performance of the season.

"Don Hutchison was just starting to run games for us, so it will be really difficult.

"But it is not something I will shy away from. It is the nature of the game and I am glad I have got the problem.

"You can understand players being booked for tackles, but dissent is a waste of everyone's time. You lose people and they have to pay the penalty for that."

Reid added: "There is a thin dividing line with players like Hutchison. You don't want to take the competitive edge away from his game but you can't live on the edge having a go at referees. I would rather they just got on with the game and used all of their energies playing football.

"It's a balancing act."

Reid has spoken to Hutchison about his bookings for dissent and hopes the penny has dropped.

"I don't think you can change experienced players just like that. He is a very good footballer who can get us goals and we need him to play games," said Reid.

"But Hutchison knows that. He knows he has been stupid and silly on a couple of occasions.

"Besides being penalised financially it can go against players in other ways - you need competition all over the club. That's what keeps the edge - you have to play well to be in the side."

If Reid decides to give his players a vote of confidence he expects a repeat of the encouraging performance which delighted him against Chelsea.

He said: "Players have set themselves standards which we hope will be maintained. If we do we will give sides very difficult games and we will need to do that at Villa Park.

"They are a strong side and a very good side, but we were very evenly matched in our two games last season.

"I think we have a great chance of getting a result against Aston Villa."

Hutchison added: "I'm hoping to play at Villa, but I saw the way the lads played against Chelsea and on that evidence it will be difficult to win back my place.

"The game was probably the best the team has played all season so I will understand if the gaffer wants to keep the same team."

l Sunderland goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen is set for his first start for Denmark in the friendly against Germany on November 15 following a knee injury received by first choice Peter Schmeichel while training with Sporting Lisbon.

The former Manchester United star has undergone keyhole surgery and Danish manager Morten Olsen has confirmed that Sorensen, who won his first cap when he came on as substitute against Israel a year ago, will play in the next international in Copenhagen