Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has vowed to put the club’s Champions League charge before his own World Cup dream.

Despite being left out of the last squad, Agbonlahor remains one of a string of Villa players in with a chance of making Fabio Capello’s England squad for next summer’s finals in South Africa.

But the 23-year-old insists his primary concern is helping Villa go one better than the last two seasons and secure a place in Europe’s elite competition.

He said: “There is still long way to go before players have to think if they will be in a World Cup or no. At the moment that is not on our minds.

“It can only be good for the team that we are all playing to impress and get on that plane, players like myself, Ashley Young, James Milner, Emile Heskey and Stewart Downing. We will be trying to perform well and that can only be good for the club.

“This is what you want as a footballer but the World Cup isn’t even on my mind at the moment. I just want to do my best playing for Aston Villa and then see what happens.”