By Paul Brown

Brian Little says he's thrilled Villa are once again considered as of one of the top-flight's "elite" clubs.

The former claret and blue boss insists he's proud to see the club competing strongly in the Premier League and progressing in the cup competitions - to the final of the Carling Cup later this month and the fifth round of the FA Cup, in which Villa play Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Little insists Villa have once again become a "competitive" side - and that is down to the impact of manager Martin O'Neill.

He said: "Villa, for me from a distance, are now once again cemented as one of the top six or seven clubs in the country. It's great to see.

"You have Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool of course but then there's the Manchester City, Spurs and Villa now very much in among that ruck. Everton will always be there or thereabouts too.

"Looking at Villa as a top seven club is great because prior to Martin arriving - in the two, three, four years before - there were lean times and it looked difficult.

"But it's great to see the club now. It's fantastic to arrive at the club and see the magnificent stadium and to watch them play and see how competitive they have become again. That's great to see.

"And I think it's a marvellous achievement to get to a final. It's just not an easy thing to do these days. I really hope they win it - it would be a fantastic achievement.

"It's just nice for me to bump into people now and talk about Villa being one of the top seven clubs in the country. There are seven really top sides now - top clubs who are being run tremendously well, on and off the field. It's great to see and I'm delighted."

Little also paid tribute to Villa's rock-solid defence as well as the team's "mobility and versatility" going forward.

He added: "Obviously Martin [Laursen] was a fantastic player and his loss had a massive effect on Villa last season.

"But the defenders Martin [O'Neill] has signed have more than compensated for that this season.

"But the whole team impresses me. I love the pace and the counter-attacking.

"A lot of people chatted to me in the summer when Villa signed Stewart Downing - what do you think? I thought it was a tremendous addition.

"The versatility is the key. I watched him play for Middlesbrough in loads of positions - up front and in midfield and he can just play in different areas.

"James [Milner] is the one who people talk about when they think about players adapting to different roles. He is playing a different type of role now to the one he started the season as.

"But when you're a manager you see these things on the training ground and you see the players - how athletic they are, how good they are doing different things. I am just impressed with the whole set-up."

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