Martin O'Neill believes Aston Villa's young players will grow in stature if they experience an extended run in Europe next season.Villa will participate in the UEFA Cup for the first time in seven years if they negotiate one round of the Intertoto Cup in July when they will either face Lisburn Distillery, TPS Turku (Finland) or Odense BK (Denmark).

O'Neill cites Everton as an example of a side who have reaped the benefits of playing in the UEFA Cup for the past two years.

And he knows from his own experience with Celtic - they reached the 2003 final - that such an adventure can bring its rewards as demonstrated by Stiliyan Petrov.

O'Neill, who is continuing to be linked with Blackburn winger David Bentley, said: "If we can get through the Intertoto and into the UEFA Cup it could be great experience for our players.

"If we can get through to the group stages, where you can take stock a little bit, that would certainly be the case.

"I think Everton would say they're much better equipped for Europe next season as a result of their terrific run this year and the experience gained from that.

"I saw that at Celtic with a number of players. Stiliyan Petrov was only a young player when we had the UEFA Cup run through to the final in 2003 and he grew in stature as the competition went on.

"Hopefully we can see the same with our young players. The likes of Gabby Agbonlahor and Ashley Young can only benefit for that experience as they continue to develop as players."

More Football News from TEAMtalk