Defender Curtis Davies is optimistic Villa can go one better than their manager Martin O’Neill has managed and lift the UEFA Cup this season.

O’Neill was in charge of Celtic when they lost 3-2 to Porto in Seville in the 2003 final, the closest he has ever came to lifting European silverware.

Now Davies believes the top four hopefuls can bring the boss his greatest accolade yet.

He said: “A run in Europe would mean a lot to me. The reason I came to the club was to play European football and, by doing that, push my way into the England squad.

“In my first year here, I didn’t play as many games as I would have liked to but then we got into Europe, now I’m getting the games and we can push on in the competition.

“We know we’ve got a strong squad and, wherever we do go, we’ve got a good chance of winning the game.”

“The biggest memory for me of Europe is watching Champions League games. The one that stands out is the final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the Nou Camp.

“But this is what the dreams are also made of. This is the biggest thing in terms of Europe apart from the Champions League.

“The manager himself has been lucky enough to take Celtic to the final and hopefully, with our set of players, we can go one better and win it.”