Aston Villa v Wigan - Sharks warded off to focus on promotion

For Steve Bruce and his team, now comes the hard part as they turn full attentions toward mounting a serious challenge for promotion from the Championship.

That the manager would have ideally liked to have added more new faces to his squad by this point goes without saying.

Yet by the same token, Bruce knows Villa have been remarkably fortunate to escape the past few months so relatively unscathed.

After all, it is barely three weeks since a fire-sale of his best players looked inevitable with the club trapped in the midst of a cash crisis.

Instead, the ‘big three’ of James Chester, Jonathan Kodjia and Jack Grealish are all still on the books, the latter despite being seemingly on the brink of a move to Tottenham all summer. Though the loss of Sam Johnstone, John Terry and Robert Snodgrass has left Bruce with gaps to fill, the mood has been further improved by a hectic nine days since the EFL lifted an embargo on registering players.

True, the collapse of Joe Bryan’s proposed move from Bristol City will have stung. Neither could the irony of Fulham, who denied Villa promotion at Wembley, being the club to scupper the deal be ignored.

Yet the additions of goalkeeper Orjan Nyland and midfielder John McGinn have added strength in depth, while the return of Axel Tuanzebe on loan from Manchester United provides some much-needed competition in defence.

Bruce, meanwhile, will tomorrow aim to build on Monday night’s 3-1 win at Hull as Villa look to start a season with back-to-back victories for the first time since 1999.

Wigan are the team standing in their way. The Latics are back in the Championship after claiming the League One title last term and though they have been tipped by many for relegation, a 3-2 opening-weekend win over Sheffield Wednesday suggested they will be no pushovers.

McGinn, who could make his debut, is under no illusions as to the aim this term.

“I think everyone in the Championship has that goal of promotion,” he said.

“At some places it is a fantasy but here there is a real feeling of something special coming around.

“Something gripped me and I am excited by the challenge. If we play to our potential we will be there or thereabouts.

“It’s a long season in the Championship. We are under no illusions it is a tough league but the way the club is going and what it is looking to do it something which is great to be part of.”

He continued: “It’s going to be tough. Every game is going to present a different challenge.

“Everyone knows how competitive the league is. It is something which excited me, to face up to a different challenge every week, rather than playing against the same teams all the time.

“It is something which will improve me as a player. Everyone wants to play their football in England and get to the Premier League. It is so competitive. I am going to be brave, stand up and be counted.”

Strike duo Scott Hogan and Keinan Davis remain injury concerns for Villa, while Ritchie De Laet will serve the final game of his suspension, carried over from last season.

Wigan were active on deadline day, bringing in Everton defender Callum Connolly on a season-long loan. He is eligible for tomorrow’s game.