IN CERTAIN other quarters, dysfunction is rife. Premier League managers are dismissed, taken ill, or their futures are simply uncertain. There are hints of player power and cliques. Owners’ demands are unrealistic.

Not, though, at Villa Park, where the extended family, from owner Randy Lerner down, are seemingly so strong. But can they remain so, as the demands grow ever more relentless for a club whose increasing complement of England players is testament to progress?

Gabriel Agbonlahor, Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry, who played against Spain in Seville, and Ashley Young and James Milner, who were in the squad, returned to face three games in six days: today’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Goodison Park, Wednesday’s Uefa Cup match against CSKA Moscow and on Saturday, the visit of Chelsea, who will attempt to deny Martin O’Neill’s team a five-point advantage over them. The schedule epitomises what a rigorous finale it will be for a squad said to lack depth, one that many had predicted would have the life strangled out of them once the ligature of end-of-season expectation tightens.

Thus far they have stood firm. “I think we can get through it,” insists 22-year-old Agbonlahor, who has covered more ground than most while playing as a lone striker for part of the season in the absence of the injured John Carew – until the arrival of transfer window acquisition Heskey, who is a doubt today. “The squad we’ve got should be enough to see us through. We have time off to recover. The boss gives us enough time to rest.”

As for team harmony, he added: “Everyone’s together. Since I’ve been here the lads have been really close. It’s a young team and the banter within us is really good, and that’s showing on the pitch.” It is a nicely balanced squad, though, with men such as captain Gareth Barry and Stiliyan Petrov contributing the wisdom of their years. Barry is suspended for today’s tie as Villa, after two seasons of elimination by Manchester United in the third round, finally have Wembley as a plausible target.

O’Neill will view that as better than his captain missing the Chelsea game, as Villa pursue Champions League qualification. The manager, however, cannot afford to lose more of his key players through bans as he tries to negotiate this hazardous period. He will be particularly irked if players are booked for dissent or overcelebration of a goal. Agbonlahor and Ashley Young are on the disciplinary cusp. Both are on four cautions and can’t afford another until the bookings amnesty takes effect at the end of the month.

“It’s on your mind,” concedes Agbonlahor. “When you’re chasing a player you’ve got to try not to get a yellow card. Against Blackburn [last Saturday] when I scored, the lads were pushing me into the fans and I was trying to tell them not to so I didn’t get a booking. When you score and it’s a really big goal or a late goal you can’t really help yourself. I think it’s silly. As long as you don’t go into the crowd, I think you should be allowed to do what you want. But the rules are there so you’ve got to obey them.”

Agbonlahor played 75 minutes in England’s 2-0 defeat by Spain, during which supply to him and Heskey was restricted. “I did okay, but it’s difficult to judge yourself,” he reflects on a performance in which he spurned one early half-chance. “There was more defending [than you’d normally expect]. Myself and Emile did a lot of chasing back. It was a different sort of game to what we’re used to.” Most expect a return to normal service at Goodison today. It is a ground of which Agbonlahor has conflicting memories. He scored on his debut there in 2006, in a 4-1 defeat, but it was the 3-2 victory in early December last year, when Ashley Young scored in stoppage time seconds after Everton had equalised, that set the tone of their recent fine run. “Since then, we’ve not looked back,” says Agbonlahor. “Scoring that late goal was a big thing. In other teams, heads might have dropped after their late equaliser. It showed that we will fight to the end.”

This indefatigable spirit emanates from the manager. Captain Barry added: “There is a great belief in the side and some of that comes from Martin O’Neill. He gives the players a lot of respect and makes us believe we can go out and beat anyone on the day. That is what Martin O’Neill is all about; building confidence in players and turning you into a better player. That is what he has done down the years to a lot of players and it’s true of the Villa players at the moment.

“We will try to win one of the cup competitions and the top four is definitely in reach now. That would be a massive achievement in itself, but this is the big test for us now. Can we go on to achieve things after the season we are having? The players in the squad, me included, have not been used to pressure games late in the season. It is a big ask and the pressure games are coming up. It has been great this week seeing so many Villa players involved in the international squad and we will go back with even more confidence after being chosen by England. That has been another big step for this club.”

Villa’s rise has been remarkable. The next four months will show whether it has been too far, too fast.