Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill believes his number one goalkeeper Brad Friedel can play on for a lengthy amount of time.

The 38-year old has been in stellar form for Villa this term as the Birmingham club have kept the best defensive record in England's top flight and O'Neill is confident Friedel can go on for as long as he likes.

"Can Friedel play on into his 40s? I think when you are talking about players who are advanced in years, you can judge an awful lot by immediate form," O'Neill said.

"But I am not saying for one minute he is not capable of doing that - and I don't think for one minute he thinks he is incapable of doing it.

"It is harder to make those assessments but there is no reason why Brad can't continue this fine form for an indefinite length of time.

"If you look at David James, he must harbour strong ambitions of being the number one keeper to go to the World Cup and the two keepers are roughly the same age."

Friedel took the gloves on Wednesday night as Villa held reigning champions Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Villa Park.