STEVE Cotterill watched from the terraces as Aston Villa were crowned English champions in 1981.

A year later, Villa incredibly lifted the European Cup by beating German giants Bayern Munich in Rotterdam.

Fast forward 25 years and it appears to be Roman Abramovich's Chelsea who are set to sweep all before them at home and abroad.

But in a modern game far removed from yesteryear, Cotterill insists that if Villa boss David O'Leary had the funds currently swishing around Stamford Bridge, the glory days could have made a long overdue return to Villa Park.

"It's more difficult to win things these days because a lot of it is dictated by money," said Cotterill.

"There is lots of money flying about the Premiership now and if David O'Leary had the money Jose Mourinho has, I'm pretty sure he would have Villa up at the top of the table."

Like Chelsea, Cotterill has come a long way from the days when he and his pals made the regular trip from Cheltenham to Villa Park to watch top flight football.

So it will be a proud Burnley manager who leads his team out against the Villans looking to repeat last season's heroics, when the Clarets dumped O'Leary's side out of the Carling Cup at the same stage.

He added: "Villa was just down the road from Cheltenham and a lot of the lads I grew up with were big Villa fans. I saw them a few times when I was a kid when they were winning the league and European Cup, so it will be great for me to go back there.

"It would be nice if we were doing it every season, and I don't mean Villa getting relegated either!"

Burnley supporters have waited even longer than Cotterill to take a trip back down memory lane. Today is incredibly the 30th anniversary of the last time the Clarets played at Villa Park in an old Division One clash that ended 1-1, with Peter Noble grabbing the visitors' goal.

Last season's meeting at Turf Moor was also the first time the teams had clashed since that season, and injuries, suspensions and player movements could now leave only Michael Duff and John McGreal as survivors from the starting 11 in that memorable cup victory.

Villa's squad, however, sees only a few notable changes - and with the Carling Cup representing a realistic chance of silverware, O'Leary will surely set out to avenge that embarrassing 3-1 defeat by fielding his strongest possible team.

The Clarets boss added: "It was one of the highlights of last season. We were delighted with our performance here last year, but that's a year gone, and I would imagine the side will be somewhat different.

"I think they've improved. Obviously they have brought Kevin Phillips in, who will score goals for them but I think they're maybe a couple of players away from the type of squad David would want.