Aston Villa started their Championship campaign on Sunday and its fair to say things didn't begin quite according to plan for Roberto Di Matteo's side.

Cheered on by over 4,500 travelling supporters, Villa were supposed to beat Sheffield Wednesday in order to get three points on the board at the first attempt.

However, it didn't turn out the way all those supporters might have expected and after the first weekend of action, Villa find themselves winless.

Next up for Villa is a trip to Luton Town in the cup, and you get the impression it's going to be a long season for Di Matteo' side, who have been heavily backed to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

But with more former Premier League sides in the second division than ever before, it might not be as easy as Villa think.

What it feels like they need is a couple more experienced heads who have won the Championship in recent years - players that have been there and done that. After all, we've seen various sides try and build promotion winnings sides from scratch before, and it really hasn't worked.

So with that in mind, here's THREE players who would strengthen Di Matteo's promotion push...

Daniel Amartey

Aversatile player, Daniel Amartey might only be young but he's had some career for someone his age.

He's won a league title and two Danish Cup finals during his time with FC Copenhagen, a Premier League winners medal with Leicester City last season and has a runners-up medal from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament he played in with Ghana.

As mentioned, he can play in both midfield and defence but he'd be a solid squad player to have in the team. A loan might work best for both sides.

Henri Lansbury

Lansbury has been a big, big player for Nottingham Forest since joining the club in 2012 and he has made himself a quick fan favourite amongst the Forest faithful.

He scored plenty of goals from the middle of the park and he'd offer good competition to the likes of Gary Gardner in the Villa ranks.

Ahmed Elmohamady

West Brom to bag Ahmed

If there's a man that's been there and done it at this level it's Ahmed Elmohamady.

The right-sided Hull man has plenty of experience of climbing from the Championship up into the Premier League having done it on two occasions with the Tigers.

He's a handy squad player to have too, as he's played in both midfield and defence during his career and is well liked by the Hull faithful.

He's quick, can score goals and works hard. If that doesn't sound like a Championship scrapper, then what is?