Fabian Delph made his England debut last week against Norway, the first Aston Villa player since November 2011 to represent the Three Lions when Darren Bent made the last of his 13 caps in a 1-0 win over Sweden. Delph should earn plenty more after an assured performance in Switzerland on Monday.

Tom Cleverley made the last of his 13 England caps in November last year in a 1-0 defeat to Germany, and may struggle to find another. The men best equipped to retain Delph's form and regain Cleverley's are Roy Keane and Paul Lambert

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Roy Keane (right) joined boss Paul Lambert as Aston Villa's assistant manager in the summer

Fabian Delph (left) and Tom Cleverley (right) should partner each other in Villa's midfield this season

Villa appointed the former Manchester United midfielder as Lambert's assistant in the summer, a desperate attempt to bring fight and passion to a side that stuttered to 15th in the previous two seasons.

Silverware is a distant memory at Villa Park - 1996 was the last time fans saw it - but the managerial partnership have 28 major wins between them, including two European Cups. Delph and Cleverley would struggle to find two better midfield role models.

Every training session should be an education for the pair; both Keane and Lambert captained multiple title-winning teams and their national side from the heart of the pitch,

Lambert played over 600 times in Scotland and Germany, winning numerous titles

Keane lifts the Champions League with Manchester United in 1999, despite being banned for the final

There was some trepidation over Keane's move to the Midlands. Keane would either lift Villa or sink them further, depending on what mood he was in and how he would work with Lambert.

But one positive of the move was his potential influence on a middle core that had taken a beating in the last two years, a huge step down from the midfield of James Milner, Stylian Petrov, Gareth Barry and Ashley Young of four years previous.

Delph has already gone from strength to strength this season, continuing his form from the past 18 months and finally turning Hodgson's head enough for a call up. He doesn't play quite like Keane and Lambert did; he is more athletic, frantic but superb on the ball, and likes to leave his foot in.

Keane's influence on the 1999 campaign was huge, and is seen as one of United's best ever midfielders

Keane lifts the Premier League trophy in 1999 (left) as Lambert lifts the Champions League in 1997

Keane will know what Cleverley went through at Old Trafford; he will have seen numerous youngsters come through the ranks and fail to live up to the hype.

But Villa's assistant will also be aware that both Hodgson and David Moyes saw something in the 25-year-old when it seemed 99 per cent of the country didn't. He will strive, alongside Lambert, to turn that promise into a reality.

Villa's other midfield men, 24-year-old Ashley Westwood, who was playing in League Two just over two years ago, and Colombian Carlos Sanchez, brought in from Elche in the summer, will not be neglected.

Cleverley in Villa training this week, with Delph in the background after returning from England duty

Delph is on the rise in Roy Hodgson's eyes, while Cleverley may struggle to get back into the England side

Westwood in particular, who may lose his place in the starting XI to Cleverley, will need to show he can take the leap from being a reliable midfielder to a commanding influence on a game, and who better to learn from than the men with over 1,300 senior appearances between them.

The Keane and Lambert partnership may have sounded like a ticking time bomb at the start of the season, but they seem to have welcomed each other with open arms (despite the video below) and Villa have enjoyed a fine start to the season.