Finding the net throughout his career had been a rarity for the former AC Milan defender despite his undoubted physical presence at set pieces in opposition penalty areas.

But Laursen grabbed his sixth goal of the current campaign during Villa's 3-1 home success over Reading which lifted them into sixth spot in the Barclays Premier League.

He has been a constant menace at corners and set plays, capitalising on some pinpoint crosses from Ashley Young and Gareth Barry, and could easily have doubled his tally.

Laursen, who is expected to sign a new contract later this week, said: "The number of goals is a thing I am really pleased with. It is a thing that my national manager and my manager here has talked to me about.

"They told me 'you have to improve that area of your game' and they told me my goal output 'is not good enough.' It is a thing I haven't done well enough early in my career.

"I haven't scored enough goals. That is a fact. I thought about that and what the managers had said.

"When you want to improve something, and you can see the improvement and the results, it gives you massive satisfaction and that is another thing that pleases me at the moment.

"This is the most goals I've scored in a season and I would love to get double figures by the end of the season.

"If I could help Villa get into Europe that would be great but let's take one game at a time."

Meanwhile, O'Neill has admitted Villa may struggle to bring in the same sort of quality as in the January transfer window 12 months ago when they signed John Carew, Ashley Young and Shaun Maloney.

He said: "That might be pretty difficult. We brought in Young, Carew and Maloney 12 months ago and those three have made big contributions in their own way.

"I think for us to get that sort of quality in again would be asking a lot but we need to be looking at it - and we are.

"The quality is the most important thing. I am well aware this is the last opportunity to be able to do something before the end of the season."