Aston Villa defender Ahmed Elmohamady is focused on helping the club get promotion into the English Premier League after clinching a Russia 2018 World Cup place with Egypt over the weekend.
Hector Cuper’s side sealed their qualification for the Mundial with a dramatic 2-1 win over Congo-Brazzaville with a game to spare -their first appearance at the showpiece since Italy 1990.
And the former Hull City defender says that is just one goal achieved and the other is to help the Villa Park outfit secure promotion into the top flight of English football while also hailing skipper John Terry’s influence.
“After getting relegated with Hull last season I felt that I needed a change because I had been with Hull for several years,” Elmohamady told Sport360.
“I was searching for a new challenge and that was the most important thing for me.
“Aston Villa was a very big thing for me to approach me, and of course I had been with Steve Bruce for a long time so that was also one of the reasons why I joined them.
“He’s someone I’m very familiar with and I know how he works having spent time with him at Hull. So that was a big incentive as well.
“So in the summer, I took this step. I feel this year is a huge year for me – the first goal was achieved, which was to qualify with Egypt to the World Cup, and now the next challenge is to get promoted with Aston Villa to the Premier League insha’Allah.
“John Terry is a valuable addition to any team. He captained Chelsea for a very long time and he’s used to winning titles,” he concluded.
Steve Bruce's side currently sit seventh on the Skybet Championship log and will next visit the Molineux Stadium to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.