THERE IS no greater barometer of Aston Villa's progress under Martin O'Neill than the manager's assertion yesterday that within his club there is the talent to supply five players for Fabio Capello's 2010 World Cup squad.
It is certainly quite a turnaround from three seasons ago, when the only reason for the England coach to visit Villa Park was to check on the progress of a player in the opposition ranks, as the Midlands club toiled in the lower reaches of the Premier League.
Much has changed since O'Neill's arrival at the club, however, with Villa now targeting Champions League qualification and the Irishman fast developing a reputation for being an unofficial member of England's coaching staff.
Gareth Barry, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor have all featured under Capello's stewardship, while the Italian's regard for Curtis Davies and James Milner, whom he singled out on Monday as a player who has caught his eye, suggests further recognition will follow. Capello highlighted Milner's progress and suggested that the winger, who joined Villa in the summer, will improve further over the coming months.
"There is miles more to come from James," he said.
"The image of the club now has definitely improved," said O'Neill, who arrived in Hamburg for tonight's final Uefa Cup group game with a shadow squad, having decided to rest Young, Agbonlahor, Barry, Martin Laursen and Milner following a punishing fixture schedule.
"Attracting good players to the football club would be less of a problem now than in the past. Ashley Young, Gareth and Gabby are trailblazing for us and that has helped us."
Although the Villa manager admitted he has targeted domestic rather than international players during his reign, he also pointed to Arsenal's record under Arsène Wenger as evidence that foreign talent can be integrated with success. O'Neill, who insisted Young is "not for sale" following speculation linking him with Real Madrid, will give fringe players an opportunity to impress tonight with qualification secured.
• Guardian Service
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)