Martin O’Neill was full of admiration for debutant Ciaran Clark after the 19-year-old was plunged straight into Villa’s makeshift defence against Fulham, yet helped steer his side to a 2-0 win.

The Villa boss could not have been more pleased with the performance of the reserve team centre-back who was thrust into the limelight with Curtis Davies out and about to face surgery on his dislocated shoulder.

Clark helped Villa keep a clean-sheet for the first time this season – even coping with the added pressure of knowing former Villa centre-half Martin Laursen was watching from the stands.

O’Neill revealed the youngster had been given virtually no advance warning of his part in the game.

“I told him 15 minutes before I announced the team that he was playing. Then I told him how rubbish I was on my own debut!.

“I’m not sure he needed to hear those words at that particular moment.

“But he’s a great character, if there’s anyone you’d want to make it, it’s Clark.”

The Villa boss first saw signs of the young England Under-19 skipper’s ability in the Peace Cup which Villa won in the summer beating sides including Porto in the semi-finals and Juventus in the final.

O’Neill continued: “He played against some top sides in the Peace Cup. I think that was in his mind. I think he felt that if he could cope against them, then he would do okay.”

The victory was Villa’s third in a row, although the win over Rapid Vienna on Thursday could not stop them bombing out of the Europa League at the qualification stage.

“We were apprehensive about it, playing at home again in the league but the crowd were terrific,” he said.

“We got the goal early which was a tonic for us and won pretty well in the end.”

Of Gabriel Agbonlahor’s second-half strike, after Fulham’s John Pantsil had gifted Villa an opener, O’Neill said: “It was a fantastic goal. He was in the dressing-room afterwards, saying somewhat modestly that he just hit it. He did more than that, he struck it magnificently.

“It’s great for him that he has scored. The first one was an own goal but he was in there boasting about that one, as well!”