Richard Dunne admits everyone at Aston Villa is excited about their young players coming through.
It's been a frustrating period for Villa who have lost key players like Emile Heskey, John Carew, Nigel Reo-Coker and captain Stiliyan Petrov in recent weeks.
But the young players that have been drafted in by manager Gerard Houllier have proved to be a success so far.
"Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark and Barry Bannan have probably been the strongest part of the team so far this season," Dunne told the Sunday Mercury.
"It looks really good for the club, and as the experienced players we can help them.
"We have got enough experience around the team with the likes of myself, Brad Friedel, James Collins and Luke Young so if any of the younger lads ever need encouragement we are always there to help them out.
"We haven't got the biggest of squads so to miss any sort of players is bad for us.
"We have had our main three strikers out and then two of our main midfielders out.
"I suppose it's testament to Kevin MacDonald and what he has done.
"Ciaran and Barry have stepped in and done really well but even for them I'm sure they would like to be playing alongside more experienced players.
"As the season goes we need to get the players with the experience back and they will help the younger lads progress even more."
