Alex McLeish defends commuting rules

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has defended the decision that forces the club's players to live within a 30-mile radius of their Bodymoor Heath training ground.

Under the guidelines any new signings, or current players given contract extensions, must live within one hour of the North Warwickshire complex.

A number of Villa players have been commuting from areas outside of the new regime, but McLeish has insisted that it will help his squad.

"We want them within an hour of the training ground," he told the Premier League's official website.

"If you are going to travel over an hour to two hours in the morning in heavy traffic, that's stressful.

"It's better to get out of your bed and travel 20 minutes to the training ground. We did it at Rangers and Birmingham."

Villa appointed McLeish as manager of the club in June.