Dwight Yorke urges Aston Villa to aim for European football

Former Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke encouraged the club's majority owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, to show ambition, invest money and aim for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

The 51-year-old, who emerged from the Aston Villa academy in the early nineties, has pointed to Newcastle United's Champions League qualification as a model his old club should aim for. With Unai Emery at the bench, the Villans should try to emulate the Magpies and sneak into the top four - or at least the top six.

"They have huge, really wealthy owners; owners with a big aspiration for the football club to try and get to the level where Newcastle is and try to break in that top four. European football would be a great transition for Aston Villa. It would be huge in terms of where they were and where they are now. That would mean a real big step for that football club. And I really do hope that they can really get into that European spot."

The Trinidad and Tobago legend had been an Aston Villa prospect in the late 1990s, but he left the Birmingham club in 1998 to join Manchester United and become a part of the team which won the legendary Treble in 1999. If Aston Villa were competing in European competitions back then, perhaps he wouldn't have been so compelled to leave. Either way, he wants his old club to show ambition, break into the upper echelons of the Premier League and be in an excellent position to keep their current stars and those who are yet to break through at Villa Park.

"If Aston Villa makes that big step, that would be a really fantastic platform for them to build on and go forward. I am so delighted with the progress that they are making at this stage."

Aston Villa's most significant European success came in the 1981/82 season when they won the European Cup by defeating Bayern Munich in the final. They also won the European Super Cup that year by beating Barcelona. These achievements remain the highlights of the club's history, but Yorke wants European nights back at the legendary Villa Park.