Ask any new signing why they wanted to join Villa and the response is all too familiar.

Sure, there is the club’s rich history, the state-of-the-art facilities and, of course, the fact the claret and blues are now regarded as the best equipped to break the top-four cartel.

But whether it be an experienced veteran like Brad Friedel or a young gun like Ashley Young, there is one constant which stands out above any other – manager Martin O’Neill.

Unsurprisingly, Villa’s latest recruit is no different. Emile Heskey is no stranger to O’Neil,l having spent the formative years of his career under the Ulsterman’s wing at Leicester.  He loved every minute.

The England star twice won the League Cup with the Foxes during O’Neill’s tenure before eventually landing an £11million move to Liverpool in 2000.

Having achieved so much with the unfancied Foxes, the 31-year-old now hopes to play his part in O’Neill’s mission to put Villa back where they belong.

Heskey said: “I hope we can achieve a lot together. Villa is a big club and it’s been taking strides to get back to where it should be. I hope to be part of that.

“The prospect of working with Martin again was one of the biggest factors for me. I know what he’s about and I know I will be able to work well with him.

“I’ve very fond memories of playing for him. I played four seasons with him at Leicester and they were great. We were always in the top half of the Premier League table and that was at Leicester, with respect – a small club.

“He took us to three League Cup finals in four years and into Europe. That says it all really. He was brilliant. I still have that hunger to win silverware. Any player who says they have no hunger for winning things and playing in cup finals is lying.

“That’s the main reason you go into football – to win trophies. We are sitting high in the table, we are still in the UEFA Cup and FA Cup too.

“That’s the stages you want to play on. I’ve tasted them before and I have that hunger for more.”

He has already had a taste of the Champions League during his spell at Anfield and now he aims to get another, by helping fourth-placed Villa finish the job and qualify for Europe’s elite competition for the first time.

He said: “I have joined a club that means serious business. The talk at the start of every season centres around breaking into the top four and the lads have done that.

“Now we need to stay there. We need to keep our foot to the pedal and keep the pressure on from now until the end of the season.”

According to O’Neill, he has signed a player much improved from the one he sold to Liverpool nine years ago.

The Villa boss said: “Is he a better player than when we had him at Leicester? Of course he is. Absolutely. He’s got a better all round awareness of the game. He was only a kid then, a kid who had driving ambition.”

So is there room for Heskey, Gabby Agbonlahor and the soon-to-be-fit John Carew at Villa Park? O’Neill thinks so.

He said: “I think he can play with Gabby, I think he can play with John Carew and I’m sure he’ll give us a tremendous lift. I’ve got no doubts that he will improve us and he’ll help to improve Gabby and other players around him.

“Wayne Rooney has said he’s a really great player to play with and Michael Owen has definitely said that. That’s good enough for me.”