Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish hails Chris Herd as a 'major gain'

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish believes Chris Herd's breakthrough has been a major gain for his team.

The manager admits he had been struggling to find the right blend in central midfield until the young Australian international stepped up.

But now McLeish believes Herd's impressive impact has given captain Stiliyan Petrov a new lease of life and opened up options, as Jermaine Jenas makes his challenge for a first-team starting place.

McLeish said: "Chris's introduction has been very good for us. He gives Stiliyan a bit more freedom to get forward. That is really Stiliyan's game – he's a forward-thinking midfielder.

"We have tried to get him to adapt, obviously, as he gets a little bit older and doesn't have the same speed or maybe the same legs.

"But he's shown that he's still very tasty in and around the box with some great goals this season."