Paul Lambert inspired Villa's Next Gen title win
Assistant academy director Steve Burns today hailed manager Paul Lambert's surprise dash which inspired Aston Villa's Italian Job.
The Villa boss made the trip to Lake Como to see the claret and blue kids lift the NextGen Series title last week.
Two Graham Burke penalties handed Villa a 2-0 win against Chelsea and Burns believes Lambert's visit shows his commitment to the club's youth.
He said: "I think Paul coming out and supporting the team gave the players a massive lift – the manager had taken the time after the Liverpool game to fly out and watch the team.
"That was tremendous. Paul was brilliant, he spoke to them before the game and then he spoke at half-time to them.
"He watched the game with myself and Sean Verity (development coach) and was giving us one or two little hints on what he thought was going on.
"At the end of the game he was complimentary about the team in terms of their character and their football.
"You can't imagine it as a young player, having the manager travel out on the day of the game to support you.
"You can't put it into words. They'll think 'the manager's come and support us? We need to do that little bit extra' and you saw it in the game.
"In the first-half, we were a little bit under the cosh but we grew stronger and I'm sure that is something to do with the manager investing in the players by coming out there."
Lambert has relied heavily on youth this season with academy graduates Nathan Baker and Ciaran Clark becoming regulars but Burns warned the NextGen winners still face a huge jump to reach the Premier League.
He said: "The Premier League is a million miles away. It's a massive jump up. We should celebrate it but our job is to provide players for the first-team.
"If you have done well in the NextGen, all it means is you have been in a fortunate position to win a few games. The Premier League is a million miles away.
"For them to make that step is a really big and it's important they are prepared well.
"The experiences they get at the club both from the coaching and playing in the NextGen and the reserves is an opportunity for them to develop."