Aston Villa boss John Gregory has revealed that Terry Venables was the inspiration behind him moving into football management.

Former England midfielder Gregory was in his prime as a player when he worked for four years under Venables at Queen's Park Rangers in the 1980s.

That spell and the innovative coaching methods employed by Venables left a lasting impression on Gregory, who this month celebrates three years in the Villa hot-seat after succeeding Brian Little.

Gregory maintains that Venables should have been re-appointed as England coach in succession to Kevin Keegan and admits he was ''exceptionally surprised'' at the Football Association overlooking El Tel.

But he is relishing the prospect of pitting his wits at club level against Venables today.

Gregory admitted: ''It was Terry who inspired me to go into coaching and management. It's all his fault!

''He was the one who planted the seeds in my mind about going down that route and he impressed on me about preparing for such times while you were still playing.

''He stressed that you did not have to wait until you were 38 and were hanging up your boots and it went on from there for me. I think he had done the same as a young man.

''I started to take notes about what you did in a training session. I used to go home and write what they were all about.

''Terry encouraged me to do that and I've still got those notes now and they are there to refer to if I feel the need.

''Coaches come and go. Some leave a lasting impression, some don't. Terry left a massive impression with England and at domestic level with Barcelona.

''I always thought he was progressive and forward thinking. He was certainly ahead of his time and he had a global tactical awareness and picked up a lot of ideas and training methods from abroad.

''He liked to put these innovations into practice on the training ground and you would come in every day really looking forward to things because you never quite knew what you were going to do.

''You have to remember this was at a time when a warm-up normally constituted doing eight laps of the pitch while the coach stood in the centre circle having a fag.

''Terry opened up my mind and many other people's minds with his new methods.''

Gregory added: ''He's done a great job already at Middlesbrough and I think his emphasis on getting the defensive side of things right rubbed off on me and George Graham, who worked under him at QPR as youth coach."