Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish says he hopes fans recognise the inexperienced team at his disposal.

In Stiliyan Petrov's absence, McLeish was pleased with the central midfield contributions of Barry Bannan and Gary Gardner for the draw at Wigan Athletic.

But the Villa manager admits the academy graduates are still finding their feet in the Premier League.

"We had two kids in central midfield - well done them," he said. "It's a measure of where we are at the moment in the transition. People have to put that in perspective.

"Barry grew into the game and Gards still has a lot of learning to do, but these games will do his education no harm at all."