Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish is demanding more consistency from Barry Bannan.

While McLeish was quick to praise the diminutive midfielder, he admits he was upset with their first-half display for the draw with QPR.

"Bannan took about 40 minutes to get into the game, like everybody else," he said.

"Our touch and passing was very poor up until half-time and thankfully we got a grip in the second half. I've seen some players who excelled on the training ground doing the real thing, instead of leaving it all behind in the first half.

"Bannan claimed the penalty, I never pre-ordained who would take a penalty if we got one, but Barry was confident.

"You can see in the way he grabbed the ball that he was very confident he'd dispatch it."

Asked about Bannan's performance in particular, he added: "I don't want to put too much pressure on the young players.

"The expectations are a club like Villa is that we should be higher up the table, winning games. I will take the pressure off the young players. We have to try and make progress along the way, as steadily as possible.

"Barry has shown some bright moments in different positions."