Yahoo News Aston Villa must take note of Eddie Howe's warning with Champions League qualification in sight
This time last year, Newcastle United found themselves in a near identical scenario to the one Aston Villa now find themselves in.
St. James' Park experienced the euphoric feeling of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, seeing off European royalty in Liverpool and Chelsea among others to claim fourth place in the Premier League. It was only during the season before that Eddie Howe was named manager and he was able to steer them away from relegation.
This rise was foreseen by all given the club's Saudi Arabian ownership, but not by any means at this rate. And so the Tyneside club embarked on their European adventure, only to see it ended at the first stage as part of a tough group containing eventual finalists Borussia Dortmund, plus Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan.
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Reflecting on the experience speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, Howe explained: "For us, fourth was never in our eyes last year - it was a case of could we build from the previous season? Could we continue to firstly not have a relegation battle on our hands and grow the team forwards?
"We hit fourth and when we hit fourth, it was almost a case of 'oh, we've climbed so quickly so early where do we go from here?'"
This is the question Villa will be pondering themselves - almost certainly, at least - as Champions League qualification beckons for them. If Unai Emery's side win one of their remaining two fixtures whilst Tottenham Hotspur lose one of their three, then a place amongst Europe's elite for the first time since the competition's rebranding will be the reward.
It was only a few months after the Magpies began their stampede to fourth that Villa replaced Steven Gerrard in charge of a struggling team with their current manager, whose pedigree has elevated the club in a similarly short space of time.
But still using Newcastle as a marker, glory can come at a cost.
"For us we're hugely ambitious, never take a step back. It's like can we improve not so much on the league position, but in terms of our general performance," Howe reflected, before making further comment that Villa must take as a warning if heading into the Champions League. "At times we have and at times we haven't this year, it has been quite up and down. December in particular was quite a difficult month for us but we managed to sort of weather that period."
Over the festive period, a balance of league, European and cup action saw Howe's side enter a run of four wins in 13 matches. They crashed out of the Champions League and Carabao Cup, whilst severely falling behind in a race for Europa League qualification they are only now managing to salvage with little time remaining.
Howe concluded: "Since New Year I think we've done okay. We have been consistent in our own way and if we could maintain our position I think it would be a great season."
Villa's task next season will also be made all the more difficult by a change in format to UEFA competitions. Group stages will now include eight matches, with a maximum number of 17 fixtures in the whole of the Champions League for a team that reaches the final including via a play-off round.
The challenge for the club will be to remain one step ahead of rivals like Newcastle, as well as Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea who all continue their rebuilding projects. Emery is thankfully a coach with vast European experience to call upon when traversing this new ground, but this reflection from a fellow Premier League boss is one certainly worth listening to.
What the bookies are saying
Match Results - Olympiacos 23/10, Draw 3/1, Aston Villa 1/1
To Qualify - Olympiacos 2/7, Aston Villa 5/2
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