Man and boy: Legend Brian Little recalls his life as a Villan

It was nearly 50 years ago when a quiet and shy 15-year-old boy made a 200-mile journey from his home in the north-east mining town of Peterlee to the Midlands in order to pursue his dream.

Now, half a century on, Brian Little is ready to tell the full story of what happened next, beginning with his time as a player at Villa and continuing into a management career which spanned nearly three decades and more than 300 games.

“Ultimately you come to thinking it would be nice to sit down and go through it all,” says Little. “I had a lot of requests over the years, asking me if I would do a book.

“But I was never sure what the future would hold, whether there would be more (jobs) or where we would get to. The last couple of years things have settled down quite a lot. I’m more relaxed about things these days. It just seemed a decent time to do it.”

The result of it all is A Little is Enough, a 300-page document of Little’s football life, which was released at the end of last month.

Written with Simon Goodyear, a Villa supporter who also helped pen Peter Withe’s autobiography, it tells the story, step-by-step, of Little’s journey from the early days sweeping the steps of the Holte End as an apprentice, right through to his final management job in charge of the Jersey national team.

It is, as Little intended from the outset, very much a “football” book. Developments in Little’s personal life are left very much in the background as the game which has shaped him as a person takes centre stage.

The writing process would consist of Goodyear providing blank tapes on to which Little would record his memories.

Villa, obviously, feature prominently. There are few men quite so ingrained in the club’s history as Little, the former trophy-winning player, manager and current advisor to the board. In the modern era, he has few peers in B6. But there is also plenty of reflection on lesser-known periods of his career - a brief spell at the helm of Wolves during the club’s darkest hour, a fraught seven months at The Hawthorns and testing times at Stoke and Hull.

As a manager, Little took charge of 902 matches and he is fiercely proud of an unbeaten percentage which stands at better than 70 per cent.

The final chapter, titled People Who Have Influenced my Career, meanwhile serves as a reminder of his impact on others.

The book’s foreword provides perhaps the best example. It is written by England manager Gareth Southgate, who was signed by Little for Villa in 1995 and went on to win 57 international caps, following the manager’s decision to move him from midfield into defence.

“I didn’t want to tell my whole life story as such, just my life in football,” says Little. “Now, 50 years on, how am I still here, in the business? When I left home at 15 I had played for my school team but not even Durham boys. I was quiet and shy.

“Now I tend to talk an awful lot. When I look back, I am quite proud of it all, in fairness.”

Little will hold a book signing in the Aston Tavern, following Sunday's home game against Leeds, from 4.45pm.

The book can be purchased online at brianlittleofficial.com