Heaton reveals lofty Villa ambitions

Tom Heaton says Aston Villa’s primary goal is to avoid relegation but insists there is no limit to how high they can finish. Villa ended a three-year exile from the Premier League at the end of last season after earning promotion from the Championship via the playoffs.
After a busy summer of spending, Villa made a poor start to life back in the top-flight as Dean Smith struggled to work out his best XI.
They won just one of their opening seven games but have since recovered to earn back-to-back victories against Norwich and Brighton to climb up to 11th in the table.
But points could be at a premium over the next few weeks as they prepare to take on Manchester City and Liverpool.
Smith’s men travel to defending champions City, who sit second, on Saturday before hosting the table-topping Reds on November 2,
It would be harsh to judge Villa on results from the upcoming double-header but heavy defeats could land a huge dent on confidence levels within the squad.
Heaton insists they set out this season to consolidate their position in the Premier League and it will be the games against sides in the bottom half that count most.
However, the former Burnley man, who joined for £8million over the summer, feels they could exceed that target.
Heaton said: “There is no set target other than the obvious one. The first priority is to stay in the division, of course. “Beyond that I don’t think there should be any limitations. It is certainly turning out to be a tight league this year. There should not be a restriction, mentally, in terms of how far we can go. Yes, there will be challenges along the way but if we hit them head-on, who knows?”
History suggests Villa will be in for a tough afternoon when they head to the Etihad this weekend.
They have failed to score in their last three meetings against City, losing 4-0 in each of the last two encounters, while they haven’t won away against the Citizens in the league since 2007.