Villa’s playing style isn’t just easy on the eye, it’s effective. Eight league wins – an improvement from six last season – and a run to the FA Cup semi-finals is proof of that.

As a result of their rise to fifth in the table, Dali believes that teams are starting to fear Villa. Ward’s team have compiled a seven-game unbeaten run, and their next assignment comes at Villa Park on Sunday when they take on Leicester City.

Underneath the happy exterior, there’s a steely edge to Dali as she looks to ensure the team don’t let up anytime soon.

“The difficult part is when you’re on a good run and you beat City, you can’t switch off and say, ‘It’s going to be easy.’ It’s not going to be easy,” she said.

“I know their manager, he signed me at Everton and he’s going to come to Villa Park to win. We need to be ready for that.

“We can’t drop points because West Ham and Everton are behind. It’s up to us at home at Villa Park, where we have great support, to get the three points.”

Kenza Dali: The assist machine on a mission to entertain at Villa Park