Aston Villa Youth midfielder Barry Bannan has become the third Villa player this season to be named BBC Radio WM Young Player of the Month.

He follows in the footsteps of Zoltan Stieber and Stephen O’Halloran.

Bannan will be hoping the good form of the youth side continues as the Villa academy take on Chelsea in the first leg of the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup this Friday.

Aston Villa have applied to enter next season’s Intertoto Cup. The Intertoto Cup is a ’second chance’ competition for European clubs that have missed out on the UEFA Cup.

Villa are currently sitting 6th in the English Premier League and it is highly likely that they will make it into the European club competition on their own merits.

“We’re just covering bases but we’ve got a chance and we’re going to try and charge on if we can,” Martin O’Neill told www.avfc.co.uk.

“This is in no way a signal that we’ve given up hope of qualifying for Europe automatically,” said O’Neill.

Villa played in the Intertoto Cup in successive seasons between 2001 and 2003 and were victorious in 2001. If Villa do qualify for the Intertoto, they would play one two-legged tie over the weekends of July 19/20 and 26/27. The Intertoto Cup will be abolished after 2009.

Liverpool’s skipper, Steven Gerrard, whose side has won only once in the last 7 premier league fixtures, has admitted that the premiership title is now out of reach.

“We realise now that we’re facing a big challenge to finish in the top four and we’ve got to forget about the title and focus on fighting for fourth place. There are a lot of teams around us who are in good form and playing well so it’s important that we don’t let our standards drop.”

The Red’s continue to lose ground on the rest of the so called ‘big four’ which traditionally consists of themselves, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. Liverpool, who have a game in hand, are now 11 points behind Chelsea,14 behind Manchester United, and 19 behind league leaders Arsenal.

After 26 rounds only 3 points separates the four teams occupying positions 4 through 7 on the English Premier League table. Everton are the best placed side in fourth on 47 points. Liverpool, who are 5th, have a game in hand as well as the best goal difference of the other three sides who are all on 44 points. Aston Villa are sixth with a goal difference of +14, and Manchester City are 7th (GD +5).

The 4th spot is highly sought after as it earns the successful team qualification into the lucrative European Champions League 2008/2009.

Aston Villa are one of only 4 English clubs to ever win the European Cup, a feat they achieved in 1982.

John Carew has declared himself happy at Villa Park. The 6 foot 5 inch Norwegian joined from French champions Lyon in January last year in a part exchange deal for Milan Baros. Carew has scored 6 goals in 18 games this season and has formed a good front pairing with Gabby Agbonlahor.

“I enjoy it here. Things have gone well for me and the team, and although we have had a couple of disappointing results of late we are still very close and can still fight for a European place.”

“My game has improved in England. It is more physical and I have had to cope with that.”

“I would now like to remain in England for as long as possible and actually don’t miss anything about the other leagues that I have played in during my career.”

“I am not just on my own up front, I now get around the pitch more and have a player alongside me who plays off me. All that is different and something for me to learn.”

“We have done quite well this season and much of that is down to the manager who knows how to get the best out of his players.”

Curtis Davies has been left out of Fabio Capello’s final squad of 23 for the game against Switzerland this Wednesday.

Four other Villans – Gabby Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry, Scott Carson, and Ashley Young – all made it through to the newly trimmed squad.

Fabio Capello said: “I want to be clear that the players who have not made the squad this time are still part of my plans. We will be monitoring the form of everyone very closely as we work towards the competitive matches which start in September.”

The friendly match against Switzerland on Wednesday is Capello’s first opportunity to see his England players in action for the national team. It is highly likely that all four of the Villa players will get a run.

England manager Fabio Capello has included 5 players from Aston Villa FC in his 30 man squad. Villa players Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry, Scott Carson, Curtis Davies and Ashley Young make up 1/6 of the 30-man squad.

“They have been absolutely terrific, I’m delighted – just to be in the manager’s thoughts is absolutely fantastic for them,” said O’Neill.

“It’s a great credit to the players and also reflects well on the club.”

Whether any of the Villa players will make Capello’s starting XI remains to be seen, but one thing is certain, this will be fantastic experience for these immensely talented young players.

England play friendlies against Switzerland on February the 6th, and against France in late March.

Click here for the full England squad and fixture list at the fa.com