Jlloyd Samuel has set his sights on challenging for a first-team place with Aston Villa after three months out of action with a thigh problem.

The former England Under-21 defender played 90 minutes for the reserve team against Watford on Tuesday in the presence of Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager. Samuel, aged 25, is hoping to challenge Wilfred Bouma for the left-back spot after finally putting a frustrating period behind him.

"It is great to be back in action," Samuel said. "This has been a frustrating time for me. The boys have been doing so well but I’ve not been able to play a part. It went well on Tuesday. The plan wasn’t for me to play the full 90 minutes but I felt so good that I stayed on.

"I’m not sure whether that puts me back in the frame for the first team or not and the Wigan game on Sunday might come too soon — but if the call comes I’ll be there.

"The big thing now is that I’m back in action and hopefully I can soon be pushing for a return to the first team."

Meanwhile, O’Neill is still deliberating before making any hard and fast judgments on the players at his disposal. But the perception remains that Milan Baros still has to prove himself after a series of poor displays this season.

Baros, who scored an injury-time equaliser for the Czech Republic in the 1-1 friendly draw with Denmark last night, has struggled in his few appearances for Villa since returning from a foot injury. O’Neill said: "I want another two months of football before I make a genuine and concerted judgment on the players here — and that’s on players who have played pretty well often.

"You can imagine how less informed I’d be on those who would have played less. Once I make my mind up I may stick with it but, at the moment, I’m deliberating. As regards Milan, there’s no doubt that if he can get back to his best he should be a big asset for us. Eventually, it’s up to the player.

"We have a new fitness scheme but, no matter what you do, it is down to the player eventually. You can encourage, you can cajole, but eventually the player is going to have to perform on the pitch.

"He’s obviously cost the club a sizeable amount of money, come with a biggish reputation and has scored goals in international football.

"Maybe he thought it would be easier for him to adapt but football is not like that. It’s not as difficult if you’ve got loads of ability, you’re fit and fresh and raring to go and have confidence but Milan’s confidence isn’t as great as he’d want at the moment. I’m going to reserve judgment on a few things for a bit longer."

O'Neill will resist any temptation to rush Luke Moore back into action. However, the striker is making rapid progress after shoulder surgery, having been sidelined since the match away to Chelsea in September.

Randy Lerner, the Villa chairman, arranged for Moore to undergo surgery in the United States and the player is ahead of schedule in his bid to make a return to the first-team squad.

"The temptation is to start rushing things but he's got a programme and has to stick to it", said O'Neill.

"He's going back to see the specialist in America and he's doing really well. I would be loathe to rush him back quicker than we initially said because, for the sake of a couple of weeks, you don't want him to have this shoulder problem for the rest of his career."

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