Wilfred Bouma admits Aston Villa still have hopes of Champions League qualification this season.
"First you have to think about qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
"We have been lucky not to have had a lot of injuries and, fingers crossed, it will stay that way but we have to bear in mind that the other top clubs all have bigger squads than us.
"It will take another couple of years before we achieve a Champions League place.
"When you look where we've come from, you realise there's still some way to go.
"A couple of years ago, we simply weren't good enough. But this squad should be good enough to get into the UEFA Cup.
"Our confidence is really high, although we know we have to keep working hard."