O'Neill believes there is now a greater belief within his squad which was emphasised via the success against Jose Mourinho's side.

But Villa head for Manchester City on Sunday with O'Neill adamant they are still a long way from being the finished article.

O'Neill said: "There was obviously a lot of pleasure from the victory against Chelsea and I would have preferred to have another fixture straight away rather than having to wait two weeks because of the internationals.

"I do believe the big thing is the self-belief that the players are getting from results like against Chelsea. That is definitely a big thing.

But the great teams go on to win consistently and we have miles to go before we can achieve that. We are a million miles from being anything yet.

"Villa fans want the side to improve rapidly and the next few weeks will determine what sort of team we are.

"We have a very difficult game at Manchester City on Sunday and we have to try and play like we did two weeks ago.

"We have to achieve that level of performance on a consistent basis, week in, week out."

O'Neill believes that Villa currently have to play a full throttle for 90 minutes to experience the sort of result they enjoyed against the Blues.

He said: "As things stand, we have to be a full stretch all the time to get a victory like that.

"Some sides can up their game when they need to, the really great teams.

"We are not able to coast for 10 to 15 minutes as some of those sides are capable of. We have to be very strong from the first to the last minute at the moment."

O'Neill, whose side have lost only one of their last 13 League games stretching back to April, has been delighted with the performances of Gareth Barry for England against Israel and Russia during the past week.

He said: "You always felt that Gareth could play at that level and he performed splendidly.

"England have fantastic midfield talent and Gareth is one of those players.

"Steven Gerrard is a great player and Frank Lampard is a wonderful player who scores 20-odd goals a season. But Gareth has given the England manager something to think about.

"He does not shout from the roof tops, but he does have a quiet belief in himself. He is a splendid footballer.

"A year ago he was a bit disillusioned about Villa and didn't see his future here. I was delighted he was staying and his England success is well deserved."

O'Neill will cross swords on Sunday with City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and has been impressed with the impact he has made at Eastlands.

He said: "I only really spoke to Sven once when he came up to Scotland to watch Chris Sutton play for Celtic.

"He has come into club football in England and has done very well so far at City.

"It's different to international football in the sense there you have periods of inactivity lasting two to three months.

"That can be fine if you have won the game before the break, but if not the case, life can be pretty tough for an international manager."

Villa defender Curtis Davies is included in the squad for Sunday after recovering from a hamstring problem.

Davies, signed on loan initially from West Brom, missed the Chelsea victory when Zat Knight and Martin Laursen impressed in defence.

Striker John Carew, who aggravated a groin injury when on duty for Norway in midweek, is the only fresh injury worry.

O'Neill believes Carew would have struggled to be fit had the game been on Saturday, but is optimistic the extra 24 hours will give him time to recover sufficiently.