A few months ago Aston Villa would have been happy with Premier League survival. Now they have a chance for so much more.

In recent years Villa have struggled to compete but they are a proper club. When I left Arsenal for Villa it was because I felt they shared similar traits - tradition, history and both took pride of place in their communities.

Villa were one of the founder members of the Football League and in the early years of the FA Cup, the trophy was almost theirs to keep. Now this group has a chance to embrace that history and write the next chapter.

Aston Villa celebrate in the Wembley dressing room after beating Liverpool to reach this year's FA Cup final

Martin Keown joined Aston Villa in 1986 and made the move because of the club's rich history and tradition

Tim Sherwood has invigorated this side and you can feel that improvement in their performances. But for all the excitement Villa fans must be patient.

Talking about getting a club ‘back where they belong’ can be a dangerous game. Villa won the European Cup in 1982 and while there’s nothing wrong with being ambitious, fans have to be realistic.

Previous generations at Villa have seen success and can be too demanding. Even when they were challenging for the Champions League under Martin O’Neill there were still rumblings of discontent.

When things do start to go wrong, Villa Park can be an unforgiving place. I experienced that when I was relegated and it can be a difficult place to play. But what ground isn’t when things are going badly?

In the past Villa Park has been so loud players could hardly hear themselves think and the atmosphere the fans created at Wembley was magnificent. Now with Sherwood hopefully a generation can grow with his side.

Making the final is a fine achievement and Sherwood and his players will be desperate to become part of the fabric of a fantastic club.

Aston Villa celebrate winning the European Cup after beating Bayern Munich in Rotterdam 33 years ago