Signing Alan Hutton is coup for Aston Villa - McLeish

Hutton played for Scotland and Rangers under McLeish

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish says the signing of Scotland international Alan Hutton is a "coup" for the Midlands club.

The former Tottenham defender agreed a four year deal on deadline day to join up with McLeish who previously managed him at Rangers and Scotland.

"He's a good signing for us," McLeish told Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland.

"We do lack a bit of experience in the squad. To get Alan, an international in his prime is a great coup for us."

And McLeish believes Hutton has several years ahead of him in the top flight of English football, despite failing to find his best form with former club Tottenham Hotspur.

"Alan has got five or six years ahead of him," McLeish said.

"There were some problems between him and Harry Redknapp, but you never know what happens.

"I would certainly like to think, with the experience he has gathered, he should be able to come to our club and not be fazed in any way.

"He's definitely got great athleticism."

McLeish also confirmed that he had made enquiries to Rangers with a view to signing Northern Ireland midfielder Steven Davis.

"Steven Davis is a Rangers player," said the former Ibrox manager, who it is understood was also interested in Rangers' Scotland forward, Steven Naismith.

"We asked about him, but we know how much he means to Rangers and we never pursued it because they made it clear he wasn't for sale."

The Aston Villa manager says that the Scottish market remains a valuable source of talent for English clubs.

"The disappointment of the teams going out of Europe has left a dark cloud up there, but people are much maligning the game," added McLeish.

"The problem for the Scottish league is that, as soon as a good player comes to the fore, he invariably gets snapped up by a team down south.

"We're now seeing more Scottish players in England than we have in a very long time and that augurs well for the national team manager."