Gareth Barry, Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor were among a host of stars missing on the plane to Moscow as Martin O’Neill gambled on Villa’s UEFA Cup future.

Eight of Saturday’s starting XI in the Premier League defeat by Chelsea have been left at home for Thursday’s second leg against CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup last 32, as the Villa manager made it clear his top priority is securing Champions League football for next season.

Brad Friedel, Stiliyan Petrov, Emile Heskey, Carlos Cuellar, James Milner and Nigel Reo-Coker make up the list of high-profile absentees from the 19-man squad, as O’Neill looks to Sunday’s Premier League showdown between his fourth-placed side and Stoke at Villa Park.

It leaves Villa facing an uphill task to book a date in the last 16 against Shakhtar Donetsk or Tottenham, having already conceded ground to the Russians after Vagner Love’s precious away goal in last Wednesday’s 1-1 draw.

But, with his wafer-thin squad showing signs the games are starting to catch up with them, O’Neill insists the decision is the right one.

He said: “We have a couple of players carrying injuries and a couple of others, who I believe need resting for the important final third of the season.”

Luke Young, one of only a handful of first-team regulars on the trip, admits tiredness is a concern, but insists Villa cannot feel sorry for themselves.

He said: “Does fatigue concern me? It does a little. We are having to play midweek-weekend-midweek at the moment and it’s tough. But you just have to get on with it.”

After their recent disappointments, which include an FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Everton, Young revealed Villa will be going all out to ‘stop the rot’ in Moscow.

He said: “We want to stop the rot as soon as possible. We have a game on Thursday and if we win it will lift us again.”