He might have just scored his first Premiership goal and be in the process of negotiating a lucrative senior contract but Luke Moore is a teenager in a hurry.
Not content that the substitute appearances have become starts and that he at last has something tangible to show for his efforts after scoring against Middlesbrough last Saturday, the 19-year-old is keen to accelerate his development.
Moore's career has taken off this season. He made his debut in last year's 2-2 derby draw with Birmingham City and featured in another six Premiership matches before the end of 2003-04.
That progress has increased exponentially this campaign, as a string of 11 further substitute outings was eventually broken with his full debut in the 1-0 win over Blackburn on New Year's Day.
He has subsequently started against Arsenal, Portsmouth and Everton and then came off the bench against the Teessiders to lash in a half-volley to dent their Uefa Cup hopes and enhance Villa's.
It is something of an understatement to say things are going well but for the Birmingham-born forward it's not enough.
"I am always behind schedule in my own mind," he said yesterday. "I feel that I have got to push myself. I set goals and even though I try to set them realistically, in my head I am always behind, because I am desperate to get to the next level.
"I was just looking to break into the first team and become an important member of the squad, I feel like I am a member of it now so in that respect I have achieved something.
"But in my own mind that is the bare minimum that I wanted to do."
Moore pronounces himself satisfied, no more, with the season so far and has got his sights trained on further development in 2006, saying: "I want to go on a run now and put some goals in the back of the net and set myself up nicely for next season.
"I feel if I have a good run until the end of the season then I can come back and be right in the manager's thoughts and in a good place to be in the starting XI."
He is much better placed having opened his Villa account. It wasn't becoming an albatross but he admits to feeling relief at finally finding the net. No goals from four starts and 21 substitute appearances began to look bad on the stat sheet.
He said: "It didn't really bother me as much as it might have bothered other people. Of course, as a striker, whether I am playing in the first team or the reserves, I want to score goals but I wouldn't say it got to me.
"But it can look bad because you start to build up a number of appearances and you haven't scored. Sometimes, I have come on for only five minutes, but it still adds up."
While the Holte Enders danced in the aisles after his goal, the Villa fan inside Moore was also delighted. He came through the ranks with his home-town club and was elevated to the senior squad in July 2003 after being one of the thousands of admiring youngsters who congregate at Villa Park in perpetuity.
He used to worship Dean Saunders, Dalian Atkinson and Dwight Yorke - "I'm only interested in strikers" - and wants to take the best of their games and apply it to his own.
"Dalian Atkinson was very powerful, Dean Saunders was a great finisher and Dwight Yorke was a very creative player. If I could have something off each of those, I wouldn't be too far off being a good player," he said.
But it's Alan Shearer who draws the most fawning plaudit: "His finishing is amazing. I have watched him play against Villa and he has not even been in the game and then a couple of seasons ago he scored a header late on. He might not even be in a game for long periods and then he gets one chance - one goal, it's unbelievable."
Like Shearer, Moore is also in the right place at the right time. With Juan Pablo Angel missing the start of the season and injured once more, Darius Vassell losing four months to a broken ankle and Carlton Cole's physical state finally falling into line with his mental condition, Moore could not wish to be at a better club.
He admits that his cause has been aided by the fitness problems of other forwards, but adds: "I feel I am in the team because I am good enough. If everyone was fit, I would like to think that I would still be appearing as often as I am now. You have got to believe in your own ability and I do."
