You're only as good as your best players. It's a saying that coaches come back to time and again, no matter the sport. And it's a mantra that will be giving Martin O'Neill much joy as his top men depart for the international break.

The opening third of the Premier League campaign could not have ended on a finer note for the Aston Villa manager. A convincing win over Bolton Wanderers to remain in fifth place; a comprehensive performance with goals spaced 70 minutes apart. And most encouragingly, another fine performance turned in by James Milner, who scored once and set up a pair of goals en route to the 5-1 victory. The display was enough to earn the 23-year-old another call-up to the England squad.

Gareth Barry returned to Villa Park on Monday, but the match between Aston Villa and Manchester City was much more than merely a chance for the locals to spew their vitriol at their former skipper. And not just because he was anonymous for the larger part of 90 minutes.

Gareth Barry returned to Villa Park on Monday, but the match between Aston Villa and Manchester City was much more than merely a chance for the locals to spew their vitriol at their former skipper. And not just because he was anonymous for the larger part of 90 minutes.

I met a friend at a local pub on Sunday afternoon to chat about the previous day's football matches. He's a Fulham supporter and thought his side were worth at least a point against Arsenal. I agreed. He also mentioned that Aston Villa were the most difficult side in the Premier League to get a sense of. I agreed with that as well.

Villa didn't turn in a stinker at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, where they lost 2-1 to a late David Dunn penalty. By and large, the match was watchable, with good attempts being made at either end. And as the visiting team, Villa played a mostly decent away game, and might have deserved a share of the points from their efforts.

It wasn’t pretty. You could even make the case that Aston Villa didn’t deserve to win the Birmingham derby. Still, they managed to escape a hostile ground with three points, and that counts for something.

Martin O’Neill is on to something. Sort of. It’s actually a replication of the template that vaulted Aston Villa to second-place in the Premier League for a brief spell last season. It’s the 4-5-1 formation (or 4-3-2-1, depending on how you see it).

Aston Villa’s season-opening loss to Wigan at Villa Park undid a lot of the good feeling that had built up around the club in pre-season. It was also agonizingly familiar. The 2-0 defeat would have fit right in with Villa’s woeful stretch drive last season.

So what’s changed in the last 12 months? Try one win and two points. Improvement? Yes. Measurable improvement? No.

Sure, Aston Villa flirted with Champions’ League football for a few months this season. Maybe even a month longer than last year. And while that might count as progress in some minds, don’t be fooled. Villa could just as easily be scrapping to finish in the top half of the table next semester.

It’s about to get very, very dicey. Currently nursing a one-point lead over Everton for fifth-place in the Premier League table, Aston Villa’s winter swoon has become a spring slide that now threatens their place in next season’s Europa League. Whatever their fate, it will probably be decided when the Toffees visit Villa Park on Easter Sunday.

This is typically the point where I'd rattle off a list of fixtures and explain exactly what Aston Villa must do in order to achieve the satisfactory results. So here it goes. United-Everton-West Ham-Bolton-Hull City-Fulham-Middlesbrough-Newcastle. There. No more analysis is required.

Liverpool Football Club have had a pretty good 10 days. First they ousted Real Madrid from the Champions’ League. Then they walloped Manchester United at Old Trafford. On Wednesday, Rafael Benitez signed a five-year contract extension. On Thursday, Steven Gerrard’s assault charges were dropped. The ducks, as they say, are in a row. And just in time for Aston Villa’s Sunday visit.

On Friday, Aston Villa were fourth in the Premier League, three points clear of Arsenal in the race for Champions’ League qualification. When they woke up this morning, they were a fifth-place side in the midst of a seven-match winless skid. Where do they go from here?

In a word, Anfield. Given their deteriorating quality of play, Villa simply don’t have time to take a long, hard look in the mirror. They must only look ahead to the next opponent. No sulking about the fans’ treatment of Gabriel Agbonlahor. No ruing the loss of Martin Laursen. Anything other than total, forward-looking focus is an unnecessary sideshow.

And so it comes down to this. Ten matches to break the top four and secure a berth in the Champions’ League. No, it didn’t go exactly as planned. No, the squad was not supposed to tire as it has; and no, Martin Laursen should not have suffered an injury at the most crucial stretch of the schedule.

But Aston Villa are there—nursing a three-point lead over Arsenal for fourth spot in the Premier League. It hasn’t been pretty. Their elimination from the UEFA Cup was pitiful and their recent form has been disappointing. Nevertheless, they remain in control of their destiny. And beginning Sunday against Tottenham Hotspur, they will embark on a three-match series that will define their season, one way or another.

Aston Villa’s sojourn in Dubai comes at the perfect time. Having not won a match since early February, getting away from the Premier League pressure cooker will be a relief to manager Martin O’Neill and his charges.

The tired squad will get a good rest and an uplifting bit of sunshine. Here’s hoping they didn’t bring a ball along. Football is the last thing these players should be thinking about this week.

Aston Villa and Arsenal have struck up something approaching a rivalry this season. Not that their pair of Premier League encounters were particularly testy. (Villa did, however, take four points from their meetings and beat the Gunners 2-0 at Emirates Stadium in November.) No, this enmity has nothing to do with head-to-head contention and everything to do with the race for fourth spot in the standings and qualification for next season’s Champions’ League.

If recent weeks are any indication, it’s a race that neither club seems interested in winning. If Everton had been in a better position when they embarked on their current streak, they might well have claimed a place in the top-four for themselves. As it stands, they are eight points adrift of Villa and can do no better than fifth this term.

And so it comes down to Villa and Arsenal. Youthful, English backbone versus stylish, cosmopolitan flair. Pity they don’t face each other down the stretch.