Ahmed Elmohamady warns Aston Villa to be ready for crunch time in the Championship promotion race

Ahmed Elmohamady believes the next two months will be pivotal if Steve Bruce’s team are to realise their goal of promotion to the Premier League.

The Egyptian, twice promoted from the second tier with Hull, has called on Villa to make it four wins on the spin when they host Barnsley this Saturday.

Bruce’s men currently sit fourth in the table, five points behind second-placed Derby, and Elmohamady said: “We have to stick to our guns now. We are in a great position. We need to look forward to third and then second place.

“Last month we dropped back. That is not the position we want to be in. We want to be in the top two.

“For me the most important time in the Championship is the two months coming up. It makes a big difference in your season.

“The most important thing in the Championship is to keep winning. Now we have three in a row, we want to make it four next week.”