Aston Villa icon Brian Little has lauded manager Dean Smith and believes the club will become a "major force" in English football once again.
Villa returned to the Premier League this season after a dramatic fall from grace, which saw them spend three seasons in the Championship.
Under Steve Bruce, Villa lost in the play-off final to Fulham in 2017 and the Englishman was sacked a few games into the following season.
Dean Smith then left fellow Championship side Brentford, where he had forged a reputation for his development of youth and tactical nous, to replace Bruce at the Villa Park helm.
Chelsea legend John Terry joined Smith as an assistant and Villa rode a wave of 10 wins in the second-half the season to clinch a spot in the play-offs, where they eventually beat Derby County in the final.
And Little, who managed Villa for three years after an 11 year playing career at the club, thinks Smith has done a fantastic job at building on the foundations left by his predecessors.
He told Triballfootball.com: "Everybody who has been with the club during this difficult period has tried their best. And there was always somebody who was going to get it right at some stage.
"Dean signed some great players last season to help us get up. But if you look before the amount of players that came in under Steve Bruce and the signings prior to that. There's always periods that you come into a club and you can't quite get it right but you leave one or two foundations marks.
"And I think Dean has jumped on that foundation that was there after two and a bit years in the doldrums really. There were certain things in place from him and he's found the right ingredients to add to them. He's been fantastic.
"With his background of his feelings for the club, Dean has an understanding of what the fans want. He has done his groundwork at other clubs and for me it's great to see a British manager whose worked his socks off lower down to get the opportunity to work at a club like Aston Villa."
With the January transfer window opening in less than a week, Little admits Villa would be wise to bolster their squad for the final half of the season.
But he insists there is a positive mood around the Midlands club despite their current standing of 18th.
"I'm sure they'll be looking at that," Little continued. "I do feel it's been said many times that we've built a new squad together very quickly and it does take a bit of time to gel, and that's because it is true.
"But I think this season is about making sure we're still in there. From my point of view we just need to establish again.
"We've got fantastic owners. There's a feel good feeling around the club at the moment, despite getting a few bad results in recent weeks. But there's a great feeling inside the club. We sell out week in, week out. Our fans away travel, we sell out away from home."
Dean Smith's side have shown glimpses of promise but a lack of consistency sees them with four wins from 17 games.
The next week is crucial for Villa if they want to solidify their Premier League survival chances.
Thursday's Boxing Day clash with fellow relegation side Norwich is followed up with an away trip to bottom-placed Watford.
But Little remains confident Villa will survive this season and return to the glory years of the mid 1970's to early 1980s, where they won the First Division title, European Cup and two League Cups.
"The Premier League is such a big change from the Championship," Little added.
"And yes Sheffield United are doing well, and credit to them for that, but not even 12 months ago we couldn't of dreamed of being in the Premier League. We won 10 games in a row in the Championship, which is unheard of, so just prior to that you were looking and thinking 'crikey, we're going to have another season in the Championship'.
"So we've developed so quickly that I'm not surprised that it's been a little bit more difficult for us. I'm sure we will stay in the Premier League and start to build a foundation again. Just like Ron Saunders did all those years ago.
"In the 70's there was that feel good factor. And there are certain similarities too now. It took us a couple of seasons in the second division to develop. I've been around this club for a long-time and I feel and I sense that there is the same sort of feelings around the club again, that there is a genuine chance of us becoming a major force for years to come."
If you'd like to purchase Brian Little's fantastic autobiography, A Little is Enough, please click here.