James Milner insists Aston Villa must be looking to gatecrash the Big Four this season, despite the challenges of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Midlands club no longer have the distraction of the Europa League this term, following their surprise early exit at the hands of Rapid Vienna earlier this month.

Villa lost their opening Premier League match to Wigan Athletic but have now won four on the spin, and Milner believes they are capable of bidding for a top-four finish.

“The UEFA Champions League has to be a target although it's probably tougher than last season because of all the money spent by clubs like City and Tottenham,” he said.

"But we have a lot of quality. We started the season with a disappointing result but we have bounced back and that shows the character in the squad. We need to keep improving."

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