Villa correspondent Brendan McLoughlin brings you his daily diary from the Peace Cup in Malaga – starring a host of mistaken identities, a bleached press officer and McGregor the gnome.

It’s fair to say the organisers of the Peace Cup have not exactly covered themselves in glory out here on the Costa Del Sol.

First there was the embarrassment of Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner being initially turned away from the ground ahead of Saturday’s Malaga clash, due to an administration cock-up, while Villa’s boss was comically called ‘Martin O’Leary’ in just one of a string of errors on the teamsheet.

So news of another own goal from the competition chiefs should hardly come as a surprise.

It has now emerged they managed to wrongly record Ashley Young as being booked on Saturday evening.

The player he was confused with? Steve Sidwell. Need I say more?

Moving on, the sight of footballers returning for pre-season sporting new hairstyles is nothing new.

Who can forget Liverpool’s ‘Spice Boys’ of the mid-nineties, led by former Villa keeper David James and Robbie Fowler, who bleached their hair blond ahead of the new campaign.

But at Villa this summer it’s been ever-helpful press officer Claire Huggins, who has bleached for the stars by sporting a new blonde barnet of her own.

The colour change prompted one comparison with rap star Eminem while Martin O’Neill has apparently remained diplomatic, complimenting Claire that it’s “different”.

A new cult hero has emerged from Villa’s ‘Bullring to Bullring’ adventure, but sadly for club journalists Paul Brown and Jack Woodward it isn’t either of them.

Step forward McGregor, the claret and blue painted gnome who accompanied the pair on their kit transportation trek across Europe to transport Villa’s Marbella base.

Apparently replicas of the wee man are flying off the shelves at Villa’s club shop with fans undeterred by the £15 price-tag.