Villa boss praise for Scholes
If Martin O'Neill could bring one element of the Old Trafford dynasty to Villa, it wouldn't be the dazzling skills of Cristiano Ronaldo or the power and vision of Wayne Rooney.
Boss O'Neill takes Villa to Manchester United tomorrow tea-time convinced he can one day transform the club into challenging United as one of the superpowers of the game.
And one of the main foundation stones of his vision would be to replicate the winning mentality of Paul Scholes.
The unsung midfielder has been a driving force for United for the best part of 13 years now, winning title after title.
"Winning is about being able to compete week in, week out," said O'Neill. "All you have to do is look at Paul Scholes.
"He's won umpteen Championships and he still plays as if he's 18. That comes from within and from being really successful and hungry.
"These are the type of things we're striving for and they take longer than 10 minutes to achieve."
Like his old Nottingham Forest mentor Brian Clough, O'Neill believes the first staple of success is keeping clean sheets.
Villa haven't managed a shutout since November 28 in their 4-0 win at Blackburn, some 17 League games ago.
By contrast, United reeled off eight in succession earlier this season to provide the winning platform for their blistering attacking form.
"They are playing very strongly and they are seeing the benefits of winning games consistently."