Martin O'Neill's side were lying fourth in the Barclays Premier League at the start of March with a five-point advantage over stuttering Arsenal.

But they fell away during the final third of the season as operating with one of the smallest squads in the top flight began to take its toll.

It was also a new experience for many of the Villa players being in such a lofty position for so long and Milner is confident they will be wiser and have more know-how if they are challenging again this season.

Milner, a £12million capture from Newcastle, said: "We had a great start to the season and we were looking good for that Champions League spot. For whatever reason we ran out of steam. We played a lot of games.

"The lads started back in early July for the Intertoto Cup and maybe that caught up with them but overall it was a good season.

"Every team has a blip in the season and we had one towards the end of last season. It is about how you recover and how you learn from those sort of things.

"We need to make sure we learn from last season. It's something we need to work upon. We were up there. We proved to ourselves that we can compete.

"Hopefully, if we are in the same position next year, with 10 games or whatever to go, hopefully we can see it through and get that Champions League place."

Milner added: "We've got younger players who maybe hadn't been in that position in the league before and they will learn from the experience.

"But it is very rare you find a team going through a whole season without having a drop in form.

"If you start poorly, and don't win for a while, and finish strongly, then you are on a high and everyone is buzzing and saying 'it has been an unbelievable season'.

"Because it was the other way around with us, it was seen as a negative.

"We only won two or three games after February but we still finished sixth in the table and that showed how good a season we were having up to that point.

"I personally feel that we deserved more out of the final few games, but that's football. You just need that bit of luck and bit of extra we didn't have for the last few games.

"It is how you learn from these runs, and it was a poor run for us, and we know we should have done better, but it is about what you take from those and how you bounce back."

Milner knows Villa have to overcome the loss of midfield dynamo Gareth Barry - a £12million summer capture by Manchester City - if they are to challenge the elite.

He said: "Gareth is a top-class player and you are seeing that when he is playing for England as well. He is on that team sheet every time.

"You don't realise how good he is until you watch him every week as a fan or you play with him, not just his ability on the ball but his work-rate as well.

"He was obviously going to be a wanted man because he is a top-class player and that's what happens when you are playing for a big football club.

"But I am sure the manager will be looking to bring people in to add to the quality we already have at the club."

Villa did reinvest the money received for Barry to sign Stewart Downing from Middlesbrough, although the England international is not expected to play until December at the earliest because of a foot injury.