Aston Villa have bigger fish to fry this season, but they got the job done nonetheless and comfortably eased past Doncaster Rovers in their FA Cup fourth-round replay at an arctic Villa Park last night. Perhaps they have greater strength in depth than Martin O’Neill, their manager, believes as it was essentially a second-string side that saw off the valiant efforts of their opponents from the Coca-Cola Championship.

Villa’s priority, understandably, is the Barclays Premier League, in which they lie in fourth place — a Champions League qualifying berth — five points ahead of Arsenal, their main rivals for a slot in Europe’s leading club competition next season. Thus, O’Neill, wise man that he is, chose only four players who had started the 0-0 draw against Wigan Athletic on Saturday. For the absentees, rest and recuperation was the order of the day.

Last night’s victory provides Villa with another test of how good they really are and perhaps can become. They will face the most resilient of Everton sides at Goodison Park in the last 16 and, again, will be able to gauge their progress at the highest level. An unbeaten run in ten matches in all competitions — and only two defeats in 17 — suggests that they are on the right track.

Villa are also in the last 32 of the Uefa Cup and nicely placed in the Premier League for a late-season charge. O’Neill, though, gave warning that there must be no let-up from his players, no resting on laurels, no self-satisfaction.

“I was delighted to get through,” the Villa manager said. “It was important to see what we were capable of and how we managed. But we can’t afford to carry anyone in the team or squad. Everyone has to step up. We’ve got good momentum at the moment and we have to keep that going.

“Prioritise? I hate that word because I love the FA Cup. But the Premier League is the Holy Grail and that’s where we’ve got to be looking. I suppose being in the Uefa Cup as well makes it difficult to prioritise, but we’ll just have to see how we go.”

All that O’Neill craves is a level playing field, which is way Villa will ask the Premier League today for clarification of why the transfer of Andrey Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg to Arsenal was confirmed 24 hours after Monday’s transfer deadline. Paul Faulkner, a Villa director, is expected to request assurances that rules were not bent to allow the move.

Villa will be told that the League is satisfied that the deal was done “substantively” before the deadline and that the paperwork was lodged before the 5pm cut-off. “I think that, at the meeting, some points will be raised, but not necessarily by us,” O’Neill said last night. “I’m not really concerned about it.”

Undefeated since losing 3-1 away to Hamburg in the Uefa Cup in mid-December, Villa had every right to take on Doncaster with confidence, and that they did from the off. They had forged ahead in the fifteenth minute when Ashley Young sent over a cross from the left flank and Craig Gardner produced a smothering save from Neil Sullivan with a fierce close-range shot. The Doncaster and former Scotland goalkeeper was unable to grasp the ball at the second attempt and Steve Sidwell was on hand to poke it home.

Villa stretched their advantage four minutes later. John Carew’s volley might not have unduly troubled Sullivan but it deflected off Sam Hird, the defender, and looped over the stationary goalkeeper.

If it was cruel on Doncaster, they did not show self-pity. The South Yorkshire side had an unbeaten eight-match sequence to their credit, had drawn 0-0 in the first meeting with Villa last month and did not look — then or last night — a team struggling in 21st place in the Championship, only one place and one point above the relegation zone.

Doncaster gradually worked their way back into the game and, in stoppage time at the end of the first half, were rewarded.

Nathan Delfouneso, 18, conceded possession to James Coppinger in the home area and Coppinger found Price, who tucked his shot past Brad Guzan.

Sean O’Driscoll’s side could have equalised when Brian Stock forced a flying save from Guzan from his fierce 30-yarder, but Delfouneso glanced in a Nicky Shorey cross to silence the 5,000 visiting fans. Game, set and freezing match.

Aston Villa (4-4-2): B Guzan — L Young, C Cuéllar, C Davies, N Shorey — C Gardner, S Sidwell, M Salifou, A Young (sub: I Osbourne, 78min) — J Carew, N Delfouneso. Substitutes not used: B Friedel, G Barry, J Milner, G Agbonlahor, Z Knight, S Lowry. Booked: Sidwell.

Doncaster Rovers (4-1-3-2): N Sullivan — J O’Connor, M Mills, S Hird, J Chambers — B Stock — M Woods, R Wellens, J Spicer (sub: L Guy, 75) — J Price (sub: P Heffernan, 75), J Coppinger (sub: D Byfield, 75). Substitutes not used: G Roberts, J van Nieuwstadt, G Taylor, A Lockwood. Booked: Hird.

Referee: L Mason.