Aston Villa have a number of players in their ranks that simply aren’t getting enough game time this season.

One of those is Birkir Bjarnason, with the Icelander being limited to just 11 league starts for Dean Smith’s side in this year’s campaign.

It will be hugely frustrating for the 30-year-old who will have felt that he is deserving of a place in the starting XI at this moment in time.

Villa are currently in a poor run of form which has seen them slip away from the play-off chasing sides in recent weeks.

There has been large amounts of criticism for the likes of Conor Hourihane and Glenn Whelan, but Smith seems to be adamant of persisting with the pair who have been below par for the majority of this season.

John McGinn has been a rare bright spark in midfield for Villa this season, but questions have to be asked about why Bjarnason isn’t being given a chance in the squad, despite their poor run of form.

He isn’t the most eye-catching player who is going to change the course of a game on his own, but he certainly can make up for that with his hard work ethic on and off the ball.

He has every right to feel aggrieved, and I’m sure many Villa supporters would like to see him involved in the starting XI more often as the season draws to a conclusion in May.

There would be no risk in starting the Icelandic international, and Dean Smith needs to shuffle the pack sooner rather than later, otherwise it could cost his side a chance at promotion this season.