Aston Villa are definitely well equipped to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season, according to a man who earlier on in the campaign felt that they lacked sufficient quality to do so.

David Platt, who played for the Birmingham outfit between 1988 and 1991, scoring 50 goals in 121 appearances before moving to Italy to play for Juventus and Sampdoria amongst others, had felt that predictions of Champions League qualification for Villa were a little premature this season, but has now changed his mind.

"Villa keep grinding results out and adding points to their total," the man who ended his career in north London with Arsene Wenger's Arsenal told The Birmingham Post.

"I was somebody who thought that when the 38th game was played wed still see the same top four in there.

"But Villa keep answering the doubters and I was one of those doubters until a couple of weeks ago. I actually fancied Arsenal to get back into the top four and thought theyd be a very good price down at the bookmakers, now theyll be an even better price because theyre not picking points up and Villa are."

Platt, who enjoyed little success in his forays into management in this country that included a spell at Nottingham Forest, thinks that, despite their impressive progress, challenging for the title is still a task just a little beyond the Villans.

"They keep winning football matches," he went on.

"If they can go the next four of five games and stay in the position where theres five or six points between them and Arsenal or Chelsea then you would find it hard to say theyre not going to come in that top four.

"But I think theyre too far away from Manchester United."