The latest international break seems to have come at the wrong time for Aston Villa. Having endured a frustrating opening to life in the Championship, the arrival of Steve Bruce has had the desired effect on an underachieving set of players, with eleven points from a possible fifteen a much-improved return for the Midlands outfit.

Despite experiencing a slow start, Villa remain just five points adrift of a play-off place, and there appear to be enough positives to suggest that a serious push into those places could be sustained.

The form of Jonathan Kodjia has been outstanding. With five goals in the last five games and six in total for the season, the pacy Ivorian is causing real problems for defences in the Championship. He appears too good for this level and the fact that he has ousted established stars as Wilfried Bony and Salomon Kalou to star for his country is testament to that. The striker is in great form for the Ivory Coast also, with three goals in four appearances so far. Kodjia’s ability has seen some spectacular goals scored so far, such as a flying volley to seal a win against Fulham and a hammered effort against Brentford. However, his deft finish to complete a comeback against Blackburn Rovers showcased all of his talents - pulling of the shoulder of the defender, a burst of pace and a measured deft finish to display a calmness in front of goal instead of opting for power. Keeping him fit, and getting him back from the Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place in January, as soon as possible will be key to Villa’s chances.

Although they have won just four games in total so far, Villa have also lost only three. In short, they are proving very tough to beat. What they have been, however, is very generous in allowing teams back into games. In the ten games in which Villa have taken the lead this season, they have gone on to win just three times. In total, they have dropped 15 points from winning positions. That would be enough to put them just one point behind Newcastle United. With one clean sheet since Bruce arrived, defending is something that still needs to be addressed and it will be the difference between making the play-offs and falling short.

Despite a huge £55m outlay this summer, it seems as if new chairman Dr Tony Xia will also provide Bruce funds to strengthen further once the transfer window opens in January. This obviously puts the Villans at a huge advantage over the likes of other chasing candidates such as rivals Birmingham City, Fulham and Bristol City. Whilst attacking options appear to be sorted with the likes of the aforementioned Kodjia, Ross McCormack, Rudy Gestede and Jordan Ayew in their ranks, there is a school of thought that Villa’s midfield is a potential weak link and needs to be improved upon. Mile Jedinak is finally looking like a good signing, however, the trio of Gary Gardner, Ashley Westwood and Aaron Tshibola have failed to impress sufficiently to firmly cement a starting position alongside the Australian. Similarly, a new centre back signing should not be ruled out also with just James Chester, Nathan Baker and Tommy Elphick available to choose from in the current squad. Ominously for their fellow promotion chasing adversaries, money appears to be no object for Xia.

With 30 games still to play, Villa have plenty of time to eradicate the effects of their underwhelming start. The nature of the Championship means that the table often stays congested throughout the season, which will be of benefit to the Villans as they look to close the gap and consolidate a top six position. The swift action by Xia of dispensing with Roberto Di Matteo and bringing in Bruce may have seemed cutthroat so soon in the campaign, yet that decisiveness may prove crucial come May.

With their season apparently on the up, there is no question that Villa have the time, resources and personnel to march into the play-offs. From their current position it is likely that Xia will view failure to do so as unacceptable.

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