Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has confirmed he went on a scouting trip to Germany to watch Bayern Munich's UEFA Cup clash with Getafe.

He told Villa's website: "Watching football is my job. I think we would have to be active at this time of year, but the same applies for every single club. Interview any manager at all and they'll be doing exactly the same thing.

"It's important for us to try to strengthen the squad. Like most other Premier League sides we have a good scouting network. We want to try to do something about it and the more players I can see personally, the better."