Dublin primed for Gregory's Croatian task

John Gregory, the Aston Villa manager, has hinted that Dion Dublin could keep his place in the starting line-up for tomorrow's Uefa Cup tie against the Croatian side NK Varteks at Villa Park.

Gregory brought in Dublin in place of the £10million record signing Juan Pablo Angel – who was a late arrival back from international duty with Colombia – for his first Premiership start of the season, against Liverpool at Anfield. The former England striker responded by scoring with a header in Villa's 3-1 success and was praised by Gregory for his performance and for his attitude when out of the starting line-up.

Gregory said: "Dion is in the team at the moment and it's up to the rest of the guys to try and get him out of it. I picked him on Saturday and, apart from his goal, his all-round game was good. He led the line exceptionally well and took a lot of pressure off young Darius Vassell.

"He's still got plenty to do this year, still got a role to play with this club and you just want him to be ready, as at the weekend. I've looked at him for the last fortnight to see how he coped with being left out of the side and being on the bench and his attitude has been first class in training and towards everything."

Uefa has fined both Newcastle United and England's Under-21 side for improper conduct of the team during recent matches. The Magpies received a £2,850 fine following three bookings in the heated second leg of their Intertoto Cup final against the French club Troyes at St James' Park on 21 August. The match ended in a 4-4 draw, which saw Bobby Robson's team miss out on the chance of qualifying for this season's Uefa Cup.

The England Under-21 team have received a £2,400 penalty following their win over Germany in their European Championship qualifier on 31 August, when four players were booked.

Some 14 teams in all were fined for misbehaviour of their fans during cup matches last month. The biggest sanction was handed to Apollon Limassol, of Cyprus, who received a £20,000 fine for the "improper conduct" of its supporters during the team's 3-1 Uefa Cup victory against SK Tirana, of Albania, on 23 August.

Italy's Brescia were fined £16,500 for fan behaviour during their Intertoto Cup match against Paris St-Germain on 21 August, when six police officers suffered minor injuries and four fans were arrested for throwing objects at police before the match. The Yugoslav team Red Star Belgrade and Bulgaria's Levski Sofia were each fined £12,250 for fan behaviour during Champions' League matches at the end of August.

Soso Grishikashvili of Dinamo Tbilisi, in Georgia, was suspended for four European matches for "physically contesting the referee's decision" during a Uefa Cup match against BATE Borisov of Belarus on 23 August. His team-mate Vladimer Burduli was banned for two matches.