Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is keen to keep his players grounded as they sit inside the top four.

He said: "The obstacles are pretty obvious. You have Manchester United entrenched as one of the great sides in world football. You have Arsenal whose record stands the closest scrutiny over the last 12 years.

"You have Liverpool themselves trying to do it. They have spent money every single season and have fallen short. If Liverpool are falling short in the last number of years, that shows you how difficult it is.

"You are looking at Manchester City. Now they might be an incredible turnaround in the way football is going. We will only know that in January.

"But if they have the capabilities of buying the very best, that could well be a big worry for the top four."