OPINION
There will be plenty of Aston Villa fans who are still pinching themselves after seeing their side secure a return to the Premier League, while others will have turned their attention to who the club might be getting their hands on in the upcoming transfer window.
The Villans took the most difficult route possible to sealing top flight football, overcoming Derby County in the play-off final after a roller-coaster of a season which started slowly and left many ruling out their chances of a top six finish.
Those looking towards new arrivals at Villa Park will be hoping that club chief Christian Purslow will have got the ball rolling on getting fresh recruits through the door, making up for lost time after only confirming their place among England’s elite on Monday.
However, the chief executive has different ideas, sending a message of patience, rather than haste, over the club’s transfer plans.
He told BBC Radio WM, as quoted by the Express and Star: “We had a player recruitment Plan A and Plan B for those two possible outcomes. But I think the hypothetical planning over the last three or four months is not quite the same as waking up with the reality of being a Premier League club.
“I am encouraging my colleagues to pause, cold towel and contemplate carefully exactly where we will make additions this summer and on the players leaving us and who those players will be. This is not a moment to rush, or a moment to get carried away in the euphoria.”
Purslow might feel as though taking their time is best for the club but considering there are 19 other clubs who have known about their Premier League status for at least a fortnight longer than the Villans, they are playing catch up to their rivals.
You need only look at the recent record of play-off winners to see that their odds of survival are against them; Fulham were relegated 12 months after beating Villa in 2018, Huddersfield survived one season before suffering the drop alongside the Cottagers and Hull again failed to survive in their first season back in 2017.
Villa need to be proactive to not only make sure they beat their rivals to the signatures of fresh talents but to give Dean Smith time to work with his squad and prepare them for a gruelling Premier League campaign.
They say patience is a virtue, but they also say that the early bird catches the worm – Purslow cannot afford to risk the club’s future by playing the waiting game.