Stiliyan Petrov says Aston Villa's impressive start to the season can be put down to fierce competition for places.
Villa's fantastic start to the season has left them one point behind joint league leaders Chelsea and Liverpool in third position.
And a win against Bulgarian outfit Litex Lovech on Wednesday will put Villa into the group stages of the UEFA Cup and Petrov believes the squad are now ready to continue their good start to the campaign.
collective effort
He told the club's official website: "We all want to play as much as possible - we want to be in the team. If the fierce competition continues, it will be fantastic because good performances are essential.
"Everyone in football knows the team is the most important thing. It's a collective effort.
"I am loving my football at the moment. You always enjoy it when the team is doing well. We are all working so hard and training is very intense."
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