Villa boss wants more than Midlands

Villa manager Martin O’Neill has made it clear he wants a lot more than local domination on the eve of the derby with Albion at the Hawthorns.

O’Neill believes being the biggest side in the region is not a true barometer of Villa’s standing amongst the Premier League elite.

Ultimately, his masterplan is to transform his team into one of the big guns.

He said: “I didn’t come to Villa with the idea that Villa would command the Midlands area. That is not my thinking.

“To be top dog in the midlands might not be that fantastic. It is far removed from the top sides in the rest of the country.”

O’Neill has taken Villa into the top four early in the season – they are fourth following Monday’s win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane – but the major concern is the heavy fixture load they have quickly encountered.

The Albion game will be their third in six days, yet O’Neill is convinced he has the squad to cope with a schedule that will ultimately deliver seven matches in three weeks.

It is a scenario which has been welcomed by England midfielder Gareth Barry who believes the fixture-pile up means they must be doing something right on the field.

Barry said: “If we are playing a lot of games, as we are at the moment, it means we are being successful. I think we all benefit from playing in Europe and my only regret is that I’ve not played in more of these games for Villa.”

The busy schedule prompted O’Neill to shell out £48million to improve his squad over the summer but he insists any rotation policy should not hamper the team’s cohesion.

O’Neill said: “I think if you are winning it shouldn’t be a factor. Yes, John Carew, Ashley Young and Curtis Davies didn’t play from Monday night, that’s about a quarter of your side.

“But I don’t think there is anyone concerned. Certainly no supporter of Aston Villa will be worrying too much about who comes in and who goes out of the side - as long as we win.

“Winning away from home in a tough environment like Thursday’s (having made changes) was great. Here is us thinking we could have done better when we scored three goals away from home.”

Albion will have Scott Carson, who spent last season on-loan at Villa from Liverpool, in goal.

O’Neill explained his decision not to make the move permanent and sign Blackburn’s Brad Friedel instead.

The Villa manager added: “We went for Brad to give us that experience, know-how and brilliance he has shown in the Premier League for the last few years.”