Star’s praise for Villa revolution

Nigel Reo-Coker tonight makes his first playing return to the capital since leaving West Ham insisting Martin O’Neill’s quiet Villa revolution will bring long term success.

Opponents Tottenham were among the biggest spenders this summer as they tried to build on successive fifth-placed finishes.

Spurs splashed out more on £16.5m Darren Bent than O’Neill did altogether as Villa spent £15.5m on six players, including £7.5m Reo-Coker.

Money doesn’t guarantee success and mid-table Villa go into the clash seeking their third successive London scalp after Chelsea and Fulham, while Tottenham’s position of third bottom has heaped pressure on boss Martin Jol.

Reo-Coker said: “We’re not like Tottenham or other clubs, who have spent an enormous amount of money trying to build on their success.

“This is Martin O’Neill’s plan, he’s the mastermind behind everything, he knows exactly what he’s doing and it’s going well.

“We’ve spent a bit of money but other clubs have spent have spent an enormous amount to get into Europe and build on what they’ve done.

“But we haven’t gone to those extremes. We’re trying to build something here and we’re putting pressure on ourselves to get into Europe.

“We beat Chelsea and that was a great win but we had to put that us behind straight away.

“It’s fair to say expectations have gone up, but it’s important for us to keep our feet on the ground.”

Villa have yet to score on their travels this season and are bidding to hit back after Wednesday’s Carling Cup heartache against Leicester.

O’Neill is without injured striker John Carew, possibly leaving Gabriel Agbonlahor to shoulder a lone striker role, while ankle victims Wilfred Bouma and Shaun Maloney should be fit.

Reo-Coker believes Villa need to be more ruthless, saying: “We’re disappointed with Wednesday’s result - we didn’t play well.

“We need to take our chances, even our half chances - we have to be more ruthless, that’s what the Premier League is all about. If you don’t take your chances, you’re not going to win games and goals change games.”