Neil Taylor knows Villa transition will take time

The left-back was a regular in Brendan Rodgers’ Swansea team which won promotion in 2011 playing some of the finest football seen in the division for years.

Such first-hand experience means the Wales international is worth listening to when it comes to assessing the performances of Villa, the club he joined in January.

Back-to-back home victories over Derby and Bristol City might have eased the pressure on boss Steve Bruce and his team yet neither was particularly easy on the eye and for much of the season Villa have been required to sacrifice style for substance in order to get results.

Taylor believes that should come as no surprise.

“Everyone would love to see is playing expansive, open football and winning three or four nil but that is not this league,” he said. “It does not allow you to do that and we would be silly to think that. Fingers crossed the football will get better but results always matter more.”

Swansea’s success in bucking the trend, Taylor claims, came after years of careful planning in which the foundations for the future were laid. The situation at Villa, where years of continual change saw philosophies abandoned almost as soon as they had been thought up, could not be more different.

Tony Xia’s takeover last summer heralded yet another fresh approach yet while the club remain confident they are now on the right track, with technical director Steve Round tasked with rebuilding the infrastructure, underwhelming results on the pitch have been proof such transformations cannot be carried out overnight.

“What happened at Swansea was happening for many years prior. They did it in League One and carried on and on,” said Taylor, one of seven new permanent arrivals at Villa Park during the transfer window.

“It’s a philosophy. It does not matter which one you have, if it works - and the manager has proved he can do in this league and the league above - once you get it and the right people in you can embed it.

“It took Swansea a long time to get that philosophy and stick with it. They got the fruits of the labour by doing that. Here we are in a transition period so it is about patience but picking up results along the way.”

Tomorrow presents the opportunity for Villa to pick up another result and record their first “double” of the season over a Rotherham team who sit rock bottom of the table, 17 points adrift of safety.

Victory would also see Bruce become the first Villa manager since Martin O’Neill to win three consecutive league fixtures, with the club having not achieved the feat since April 2010.

Jack Grealish netted against the Millers in Villa’s 3-0 home win back in August and could feature tomorrow depending on the severity of Andre Green’s hamstring injury. Gary Gardner (ankle) is also a doubt, while Leandro Bacuna is suspended.