Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark believes that Premier League rivals are taking notice of an upsurge in the Midlanders form. "Maybe teams are looking at us now and knowing when they come up against us it's going to be a tough game," he told the Express and Star.
"We have had a tough start in the league. The games against Chelsea and Liverpool, we could have got points as well.
"That's what we want. We want teams to think it's tough."
"We are a year older and hopefully we are still improving," he added.
"We are learning from some of the mistakes last season. We are a young side and we've had a tough start this season but I think we are progressing and moving forward."
The Republic of Ireland international believes the international break will revitalise the squad for their game against Tottenham on October 20.
"I think it's a chance for some of the lads to have a well-deserved rest, the ones who aren't going away in any case," he said.
"Maybe the rest will do them good. Hopefully we can get back together the week before the Spurs game and we'll be raring to go."
