Villa's form will have the big boys in league worried
The team are looking strong and are doing above and beyond what is being asked of them.
As a former Villa player that is great to see and I do not know how far they can go if they keep playing like they are.
The important thing at the moment is not to heap all the pressure on the side by saying they will be finishing here this season or can they finish there?
Fans should not be thinking like that and should just be concentrating on enjoying what the team are doing on the pitch in the here and now.
I know it can be hard but as players it is easy to let the expectation of the fans and the media get on top of you and the hype that follows can sometimes bring you down.
Villa do not seem to be feeling that at the moment, though, and if Tuesday night's game away at Portsmouth is anything to go by they seem to be thriving on it.
That was a good victory and moved them within three points of the top of the table.
It is as close at the top now as it is at the bottom and that is a great advert for the league.
It was great to see Emile Heskey getting his first goal, in his first game, for the club in the win on Tuesday night.
He was a great signing and at £3.5 million you cannot really go wrong.
That is the great thing about Martin O'Neill, he targets great players and somehow gets them in for very little money.
The Heskey deal is a great example of that and, in terms of what the squad was needing, he fits the bill.
With a few days left now in the transfer window I do not expect to see Martin splashing that much more cash as he knows, I think, that the squad he has got are capable of doing what he wants.
There are a couple of areas I think where the Villa have numbers but maybe not that real quality. However, with players coming back from injury they can counteract that.
Hopefully, the form Villa have been showing of late will be in evidence again this weekend against Wigan.
Wigan beat us last year but I do not see a similar situation this season.
Wigan have lost a couple of their best players during the window and although they have brought a couple of lads in it will take time for their game to adapt.
I cannot finish the column this week without talking about the game versus Doncaster in the cup last weekend.
It was a game that Martin would not have wanted to replay but at the same time he would not want to be out either.
A replay at Villa Park is not the worse thing for the side, though, as although Doncaster are in a bit of form at the moment Villa at home are a tough prospect for anyone to take on.
That is why I can see Villa going through to face Liverpool.
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