Shay Given praises Tim Sherwood impact on Aston Villa

Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given has praised new manager Tim Sherwood for bringing a "real spark" to the club since his appointment.

The West Midlands side find themselves 16th in the table, three points clear of the drop zone and in the FA Cup semi-finals following three straight wins under Sherwood.

Given told BBC Sport: "[Sherwood] has been extra positive, he's brought a real spark to the club and a positive manner. Everyone wants to play attacking football and get bodies into the box.

"We scored four goals [away at Sunderland], we haven't done that for a long time, but we have a team that has some very attacking players and he wants to use them to cause other teams problems.

"Confidence is a massive thing in football, we've won the last three games and we are on a high now."

The in-form Villans welcome Swansea City to Villa Park in the Premier League next weekend.