Steve Davis looks forward to Aston Villa arriving in South Cheshire this evening

Crewe Alexandra boss Steve Davis has told the club’s official web-site of his delight in seeing our former midfielder Ashley Westwood develop into a consistent performer in the Premier League for Aston Villa. Westwood, 24, recently signed a new deal at Villa Park and Davis always believed that the local Crewe lad would fulfil his potential for Paul Lambert’s young side.

Ahead of our pre-season friendly with Aston Villa this evening, Davis told crewealex.net: “I saw Villa a few times last season and I thought they were a good young team. They were threatened by relegation but they came through it.

“When I saw them they dominated a lot of possession but were a bit unlucky. They may have made a mistake and conceded a bad goal at a bad time that would cost them. That can happen with young players but Paul Lambert showed great belief in them and they survived.

“Paul is getting a young and hungry group of players together and they want to grow and be successful. That is what we are trying to build here.

“We always had great belief in Westy’s quality. It was just a question of him being able to make the step up. It is a gigantic step up from League Two, which he came from, to the Premier League but after a few months he got in here and stayed there.

“Paul has shown great faith in him and Westy has become one of the first names on the team sheet. He has done that by being consistent. His passing rate is something like 90% each week and he doesn’t give the ball away. That is a great quality to have especially in the Premier League where possession is key.

“When a top club like Aston Villa came in for him, we knew it would be the right move for him and it has proved to be a great move for him.”