Aston Villa’s Delaney praise manager O’Neill

Delaney said: “I was fortunate when I arrived because we had a manager who gave young players – and those who you wouldn’t have thought had a chance – a chance. That is what Martin O’Neill is doing now.

“There is still experience around the place as well with Barry, Thomas Sorensen and Gavin McCann and he has just molded the youngsters around him.

“So it is the same in that respect. They are not afraid to give youngsters a chance and the youthful exuberance on the pitch is exciting to watch. It is bringing people back to their seats in the stadium, and that is at a time when we have been on the box I don’t know how many times this season.

“We are now a team that people talk about, and a team that people think are an exciting team to watch. We are on the back pages for the right reasons and that is something that Martin has done straight away.

“But we are not going to get carried away, we have to get results and see where that takes us at the end of the season.”