The first team have to wait until next week to get their season underway but for Mark Delaney and the Under-23s, the serious business begins on Tuesday night.
Villa’s youngsters will get their campaign underway with a trip to Sunderland to face senior opposition in the Group Stage of the EFL Trophy.
Delaney believes that the fixtures in this competition are the most important set of challenges that the young players will face all season.
He said: “We are really excited, we have a really good group of players.
“These are the tests that we want them to have and we want them to be exposed to this level of football.
“We are looking forward to seeing how they deal with it. It’s the most valuable three games that we will have during the season.”
The 2019/20 Academy Games Programme was cut short, but progress has already been made this term, with several starlets joining Dean Smith’s squad for their training camp and subsequent friendlies ahead of the new campaign.
Delaney is confident of a successful season, both in terms of results and also player development.
The former defender added: “There is a good camaraderie, they want to win and have a strong season.
“They want to progress and get out of Division 2 and into Division 1.
“It’s about players progressing through the club and being involved in the first team environment; that’s my thought before the start of every season.
“We want to see the pathway through the club and with the manager in place, we have got that.”
You can watch the full interview with Mark Delaney on VillaTV by clicking here.
