Matt Maher: Ambition’s great for Aston Villa – but exploiting fan loyalty isn’t

Ever since Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens arrived to rescue the club from the brink of administration, they have made no secret of the fact they are aiming right for the top.

With part of the dream realised following qualification for the Champions League, they have entered the summer with the pedal still firmly to the floor, a deal to sign left-back Ian Maatsen for £37.5million agreed despite those well-publicised profit and sustainability (PSR) concerns.

The same sense of a club in a hurry can be found off the field where Chris Heck, president of business operations, last week revealed his objective to double revenues to £400million within the next three seasons.

It is a bold target yet, as Heck rightly pointed out, one entirely necessary if Villa are to maintain their challenge against the Premier League’s elite.

But where the club want to go quickly, they must also go carefully.

Exciting though plans for new hospitality areas might be for some, many have been left frustrated by a stadium reconfiguration which has seen at least 900 supporters moved from their seats, often split up from family and friends with whom they have sat for years.

Communication from the club on the matter might politely be described as less than stellar.

And while the price of adult season tickets has risen by only five per cent, the same cannot be said of those for youngsters or pensioners. Some of the latter have gone up by more than 20 per cent. Wolves were rightly hammered for introducing similar rises.

Villa, of course, can currently claim to be selling for a better product with next season already the most highly-anticipated in decades. Yet the same arguments used against Wolves’ justification for price rises also apply here.

Excitement over the Champions League and an acknowledgement Sawiris and Edens are delivering on their promise will quell any major dissatisfaction for now.

Yet in their rush to reach the top, Villa must be careful not to sow seeds of discontent now which could prove costly later.