There is no greater barometer of Aston Villa's progress under Martin O'Neill than the manager's assertion yesterday that within his club there is the talent to supply five players for Fabio Capello's 2010 World Cup squad. It is certainly quite a turnaround from three seasons ago, when the only reason for the England coach to visit Villa Park was to check on the progress of a player in the opposition ranks, as the Midlands club toiled in the lower reaches of the Premier League.
Much has changed since O'Neill's arrival at the club, however, with Villa now targeting Champions League qualification and the Northern Irishman fast developing a reputation for being an unofficial member of England's coaching staff. Gareth Barry, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor have all featured under Capello's stewardship, while the Italian's regard for Curtis Davies and James Milner, whom he singled out on Monday as a player who has caught his eye, suggests further recognition will follow.
"The image of the club now has definitely improved," said O'Neill, who arrived in Hamburg for tonight's final Uefa Cup group game with a shadow squad, having decided to rest Ashley Young, Agbonlahor, Barry, Martin Laursen and Milner following a punishing fixture schedule. "Attracting good players to the football club would be less of a problem now than in the past. Ashley Young, Gareth and Gabby are trailblazing for us and that has helped us."
Although the Villa manager admitted he has targeted domestic rather than international players during his reign, he also pointed to Arsenal's record under Arsène Wenger as evidence that foreign talent can be integrated with success. "If I felt there was a national talent lying around, rather than an international talent, I would probably give it serious consideration because it's their league and they'll get used to these things. But the very good foreign players have adjusted to the Premiership, so it's probably just about [signing] good players."
Villa have plenty of those, according to Capello. The Italian believes that the England contingent within O'Neill's ensemble represent "the future", comments well received by the Villa manager. O'Neill returned the compliment, praising Capello for restoring a "strong mentality" in the England squad since Steve McClaren's chastening tenure was brought to an end and supporting the coach's claims that Villa can play a significant part in delivering success in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
"I think that it's really early to say [whether four or five will be on the plane]," said O'Neill, who believes that Young, Agbonlahor and Milner have all benefited from being part of a settled side as opposed to clubs where rotation is prevalent. "Do I think that they've got the talent to do so? Yes. But lots of things can happen, like serious injuries or loss of form, although you can never imagine that Ashley will lose that confidence he has now. I [also] think that Gabby is going to improve."
O'Neill said he was "really pleased" Capello highlighted Milner's progress and suggested that the winger, who joined Villa for £12m in the summer, will improve further over the coming months. "There is miles more to come from James," he added. However, O'Neill, who insisted Ashley Young is "not for sale" following speculation linking him with Real Madrid, will give fringe players an opportunity to impress with qualification secured.
Hamburg (probable, 4-1-3-2): Rost; Demel, Reinhardt, Mathijsen, Aogo; Neves; Trochowski, Benjamin, Jansen; Petric, Guerrero
Aston Villa (4-4-2): Guzan; L Young, Davies, Cuéllar, Shorey; Gardner, Reo-Coker, Sidwell, Salifou; Harewood, Delfouneso
Referee A Nikolaev (Russia).
TV: Channel Five, kick-off 7.30pm
