Martin Laursen has warned Villa they must stay focussed in Iceland on Thursday, insisting: "Hafnarfjardar will be looking to cause an upset."

Villa are the bookies favourites against the Icelandic league leaders but Laursen knows there is no room for complacency in European football.

And the Danish international is confident Villa will repeat the professional displays that saw off Odense BK in the Intertoto Cup.

He told www.avfc.co.uk: "It was nice to see Villa in the UEFA Cup draw and it was nice to be part of that. We want to see that many more times this season.

"I think we've got a good draw and I'm happy with it. Obviously it's not going to be easy but I think we've got a good chance to go through.

"But we will approach the game professionally. You can lose to anybody. They're professionals as well and they will want to win.

"Obviously they're not playing in the Premier League like we are but still they can play football and on a bad day for us, if we're not concentrating, then we can lose to a side like FH Hafnarfjardar.

"So we must be careful and take this game seriously. We took Odense seriously in the Intertoto Cup and that is how we should always be.

"I don't like to talk about the attitude because we are all professionals and we get a lot of money to play football. So we should go into each game with the right attitude.

"There's no excuse for not having the right attitude - even though we play against an Icelandic team and are favourites to win, you need to have the right attitude to win every time you start a game."

Laursen is one of the few Villa players with significant European experience, having won the Champions League with AC Milan in 2003.

And he believes an extended run in this season's UEFA Cup will benefit Villa's young squad. He added: "If we can progress as far as possible in Europe this season that will help the development of the team and the development of individual players.

"To go and play in the UEFA Cup against teams that you haven't played against before is very interesting.

"Obviously every weekend you're up against very good teams here in England and very good players.

"So it's not like the level will be higher than we are used to. It's just that it's so interesting to play against other teams from other countries.

"That's the thing when you play club football in Europe and when you play international football. It is another interesting test for players."