2-1

Regrets? Paul Merson has had a few during his life, which has had so many ups and downs it has resembled a snakes-and-ladders board at times, and the Aston Villa player must now be ruing the fact that he called time on his England career last year.

The former Arsenal forward is 32 going on 21, which is why Villa manager John Gregory gave him a one-year extension to his contract earlier this week.

Merson responded with a marvellous display of guile and graft against Charlton, chasing and caressing the ball in equal measure and scoring what proved to be the winner with a rare headed goal in the 41st minute.

And with England crying out for inspiration from the middle, Merson is the sort of player the new coaching set-up can ill-afford to ignore.

Certainly Gregory thinks he could be persuaded to change his mind should Peter Taylor and Steve McClaren think he is worth another chance.

‘If he got the call to play for England again I’m sure he’d jump at the opportunity,’ said Gregory. ‘Everything about him is good - his contribution to the team, his ability to score goals, his persona about the place. He inspires people and they look to him to score goals out of nothing.’

Indeed, his goal yesterday showed that although he has been playing a deeper role in recent years, his striker’s instincts are still razor sharp. When Alan Wright whipped in a cross from the left, the ball was heading for the arms of Dean Kiely until Merson appeared from nowhere to glance a header past the bemused goalkeeper.

It was just reward for his relentless running and probing, which had given Villa the edge in a poor first-half. They had taken the lead in the 34th minute when Ian Taylor was given time and space to nod Steve Stone’s deep cross into the far corner, and were comfortably ahead by half-time.

‘We didn’t apply ourselves or close down Villa in the first-half and I couldn’t wait for the break so we could do something about it,’ said Charlton’s manager Alan Curbishley. ‘For the second away game running we’ve given the opposition a two-goal start and blown a chance to get something out of it.’

Charlton pushed Villa all the way, though, with Dion Dublin diverting Jonatan Johansson’s cross into his own goal in the closing minutes to set up a tense finale. But Villa dug in for a victory that allowed them to replace Charlton in seventh place and leave Gregory smiling.