Villa Skipper Wants Upward Movement

Stilyan Petrov thinks Aston Villa are an improving team, but they could aim for the Premier League top six if they were more clinical in front of goal.

The Villa skipper has seen the club develop in the short space of time Gerard Houllier has been in charge. Results have followed and they were unlucky not to beat Premier League leaders Chelsea at the weekend after having a number of good chances in the game.

Villa sit eighth in the table, but if they were able to score more goals they could be higher, and that is something Petrov is aiming for. Houllier is struggling with an injury crisis among his forwards, with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey on the sidelines leaving John Carew as the only experienced striker.

The problem is that even when those three are all fully fit you cannot see any of them getting 20 goals a season, and if Villa really want to aim for the top six then they need a top forward and the Premier League promotions suggest they could struggle to push on.

But Petrov claims this team is good enough as it is to move up the Premier League under the guidance of Houllier. He told the Birmingham Mail he was impressed by how Villa "stood up" to Chelsea in their last match and managed to upset the football betting by grabbing a draw.

"We worked hard and were organised, we had our chances but we couldn't do it. Like I've always said, we need to be more clinical," he said.

"It didn't happen but we are moving in the right direction."

One man who will be crucial to Villa if they are to aspire for the Premier League top six is Ashley Young, and the England winger recently claimed he thinks Houllier can help him develop as a player and get him performing to his full potential.