After nine Premier League games, Aston Villa sit just three points off second place.

Their position reflects both how well they’ve responded after a poor start to the campaign and the inconsistencies of other Premier League teams, considering Villa failed to win any of their first five league games.

On Claret & Blue, Dan Rolinson and John Townley discussed Villa’s campaign so far and their points total after the first quarter of the season.

You can watch the podcast here, or read part of its transcript below.

“I would have taken this amount of points. But was it actually an OK start? No - we played poorly for the first five games. We didn’t score a goal and had barely a shot on target for a long stretch," Townley started. "Honestly, we really struggled to create chances during that period. Was it just one shot on target against 10-man Sunderland? It wasn’t good enough.

“You do hear people say, 'Well, Brentford, mid-table; Sunderland, fourth' - but if we had beaten them, we’d...