Stephen Ireland was today told by Villa boss Alex McLeish that none of his off-the-pitch distractions will ever beat the feeling of a match-winning performance on it.

The midfielder was pictured drinking alcohol and smoking a shisha pipe over the festive period but heads into Villa’s game against Swansea on the back of a man-of-the-match showing in the surprise 3-1 victory at Chelsea.

And McLeish is eager for Ireland to build on his “benchmark” display over the next few matches and showcase his undoubted talent for the claret and blue cause.

“I’ve had a good response from Stevie, the Villa fans will be talking about him and it will be all about the back pages instead of what has gone on before,” said McLeish.

“What he did was daft. It does bring attention to yourself.

“I think the quote with the picture was ‘smoking shisha pipes and alcohol – it doesn’t get any better than that’.

“Well, I’ll tell you what’s better than that, coming to Chelsea and winning football matches and that’s what every single player should be aspiring to – getting that feeling, the winning feeling, and forgetting about all the trappings.

“I’m trying to get the best out of him, I’m trying.

“And Stevie has set a magnificent benchmark with Saturday’s game.

“The Villa fans roared their approval and I said to him: ‘You’ve got to listen to that’. If you can do all that then your natural talented game will come for you.”

Villa striker Darren Bent admitted Ireland regularly impresses on the training ground and believes he can be a crucial player for the club over the rest of the season if he can sustain his Stamford Bridge form.

“He showed at Stamford Bridge why he is so highly rated by everyone at the club and hopefully he can continue that against Swansea and into the next few games,” added Bent.

“Stephen can be a really important player for us going forward.

“He has the ability to pick that pass which some players can’t see and that can be the key to unlocking some of the best defences in the Premier League.

“As players we have seen it day-in day-out at Bodymoor. He is the top man on the training ground and he can be the top man on the pitch.

“I don’t think most of the players saw it (the shisha picture) to be honest. They heard about it but no-one has made a big deal of it. I think it was water of a duck’s back and he was excellent against Chelsea so hopefully he will be able to kick on from here.”