Villa ready for the big one

Manager Martin O'Neill primed Villa Park for the start of something special tonight as the club prepare for the return of top-notch European football.

The visit of Ajax for the opening UEFA Cup group game recalls some of the stadium's most exciting occasions in modern times, with the buzz of expectation reaching the dressing room as well as supporters starved of such contests for 10 years.

O'Neill, a UEFA Cup runner-up as Celtic manager, acknowledges that he and Villa have been away for too long. He wants tonight prestige clash to be merely the overture to an extended period of European football at the club.

He said: "It's the sort of game that would befit the KO stages later in the competition. It gives me the opportunity to sample the atmosphere that these games bring.

"Celtic Park was one of the most atmospheric venues in the world. When you do play European football and make a bit of progress, you inevitably miss it when it doesn't happen.

"Make no mistake, this is a big occasion for us. It is something that we do want to bring to the club long-term."

O'Neill believes that it is no co-incidence Villa are once more bound for serious European challenges at a time when competition for places is growing.

Nicky Shorey will return to left back but beyond that there are no clues – although Gareth Barry is expected back in midfield.

Neither will the side lack for experience, according to O'Neill.

He said: "If we get beaten, we will not be able to blame a lack of experience. Even Carlos Cuellar played all the games in last season's run to the UEFA Cup final, Stiliyan Petrov has played in the final. They've not just got their European club experience but their international experience as well."

The manager also dismisses claims that the UEFA Cup' is a second-class citizen alongside its big brother, the Champions League.

O'Neill added: "I accept that the Champions League is the Holy Grail but the UEFA Cup is as strong as I've ever known it.

"AC Milan are in there – there are a dozen teams who could go into the Champions League and compete."