I'm cross with myself. I've fallen into that trap again. The giddily expectant, hoping for something exciting to happen, jittery-nerved state of mind that is indicative of the final throes of the transfer window.

August 24. A week to go. Villa need a player. Or two. Ideally three. Are they coming? Who knows. Not I. And not Paul Lambert, either, judging from his latest comments, sharing his frustration at a lack of progress in recent weeks. (though I bet he knows a lot more than he's letting, the crafty wee rascal).

Lambert is frustrated because he's being choosy. Not fussy - focused. He almost certainly knows the player or players he's after, and he definitely knows the type he's after. In a word: hungry. Hungry to succeed. Hungry to come to Villa, to learn, to develop, to push themselves on to the next level. Beside that, the economic practicalities of the deal have to fit the club's wage structure, and the fee has to be realistic.

That is why Lambert has signed two players from Dutch football so far this summer, and another from a League One club. Villa are still counting the cost of buying high and paying uber generously. It is why Lambert is so keen to move Alan Hutton and Stephen Warnock on that neither are anywhere near the first team picture; Hutton not even making getting on the plane for the club's pre-season tour of the USA, Warnock now training with the development squad. And perhaps why the Villa manager withdrew from an invitation to take the Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone on loan for the season - chunky wages, a player coming off the back of injury problems, filling a gap but any permanent move coming with a hefty price tag. The disastrous loan spell of Jermaine Jenas springs all too readily to mind.

On a day when moves for Steven Fletcher and Matt Jarvis - at £12m and £11m, reportedly - were confirmed, it emphasizes the feeling that there are some massively inflated deals to be done. Not a path Villa can afford to take any longer.

Even so, there is a need to strengthen, especially after the horrible news that Gary Gardner, Villa's promising attacking midfielder, has been ruled out for nine months, effectively the season, after damaging his anterior cruciate ligaments. Unlucky and very sad.

Gardner's now out of the squad for the first home match of the season, against Everton on Saturday. He joins Richard Dunne (expected mid-September), Gabby Agbonlahor (training again but a couple of weeks away) and Marc Albrighton (broken foot, no return date as yet) on the sidelines. A thin squad made thinner still. Nathan Delfouneso is fit again, however.

Should Villa need inspiration, however, it could come in the shape of the visitors. Everton are used to operating within their own tight resources, and they do well. They lost Jack Rodwell in the summer, to the monster that is Manchester City, but did successfully bring Steven Pienaar back to the club. Rodwell's a loss but Pienaar gives them more - some sparkle to a midfield that is otherwise functional and committed.

That commitment was clear on the opening day, when a Maroune Fellaini goal beat Manchester United. A word of mitigation here: the United defence included Antonio Valencia at right back and Michael Carrick at centre-back; Sir Alex Ferguson so dazzled by his pursuit of Robin van Persie, perhaps, that he overlooked the need to strengthen his defensive cover.

Even so, that win showed Everton, traditionally slow starters to a season, might be quicker out of the blocks this time. Games between Villa and the Merseysiders have often tended to be, if not tight, than pretty even and I predict another tough afternoon this time around.

 

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