Gregory staged something of a coup this summer when he brought Schmeichel back to the Premiership, and his form since has been outstanding.

His new boss firmly believes it is his burning passion to prove his critics wrong which has fuelled his remarkable longevity - and he knows exactly where he learned that.

‘‘Alex instills that into his players,’’ Gregory said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek show.

‘‘I’ve only known that second-hand, but I now see it first-hand because I’ve got one of his ex-players here in Peter Schmeichel.

‘‘Peter’s got the same siege mentality in his head when people doubt that he can continue to play game after game after game and still keep producing quality goalkeeping performances.

‘‘He does thrive on that and he goes back out there and proves people wrong week after week.

‘‘Nothing has changed from Peter’s point of view. He’s still got that same desire and that same hunger to want to be successful, and even more so this season.

‘‘They’re both from the same mould in my opinion, they’re both outright winners.’’

Gregory’s comments came as he prepared for a key game in his club’s season in what he insists is still a hugely important competition.

And while some clubs may regard the FA Cup as a lower priority than in past years, that is not the case at Villa Park.

‘‘In the past, Manchester United have been guilty of probably not giving their full attention span to the FA Cup - one or two other teams have also down the years,’’ he said.

‘‘It doesn’t quite hold the same magic to some of the bigger clubs in the Premiership as of course it did in the past.

‘‘When I was a kid, the FA Cup final was the be all and end all. To play in the FA Cup final would be the highlight for any professional footballer.

‘‘But since the introduction of the Champions League, now everybody wants to play in the Champions League final, everybody wants to play in Champions League matches, everybody wants to play matches in Europe, and the FA Cup has suffered a little bit.

‘‘It doesn’t quite have that same impact possibly in the earlier rounds. It just doesn’t seem quite the same as when we were kids.

‘‘But nevertheless, the romance of the FA Cup is still there.’’