Steve Bruce would have been feeling a huge sense of déjà vu as his Aston Villa side started the Championship season by winning just one of their opening seven league fixtures.

Villa came into the campaign as the pre-season favourites for promotion having added the likes of John Terry and Glenn Whelan to their already strong squad, but Bruce’s men still appeared to be suffering from the lack of confidence that saw them record just a 13th-placed finish in the second tier last term.

While the consecutive away defeats to Cardiff City and Reading in August were a low point, the successive goalless draws against Brentford and 10-man Middlesbrough earlier this month were just as frustrating.

Bruce had tested 4-2-3-1, 3-4-2-1 and 3-4-3 formations in the early stages of the campaign, but after failing to break down Boro despite the fact they were a man short for 86 minutes at Villa Park following the dismissal of former Villan Adama Traore – although Henri Lansbury followed him for an early shower on 64 minutes – he decided to switch things up for the trip to Barnsley with the club lying 18th in the standings.

Despite being one of their better players last season, Albert Adomah had found himself seemingly out of favour in the opening weeks, featuring for just 72 minutes before he came on as substitute at half-time against Middlesbrough.

While he failed to make a real impact against Garry Monk’s side, Bruce reverted to an old-school 4-4-2 system at Oakwell four days later with Adomah starting on the left wing and summer transfer window addition Robert Snodgrass on the right.

With Conor Hourihane and Glenn Whelan in the middle of the park and youngster Keinan Davis partnering the returning Jonathan Kodjia up top, it seemed something of a gamble and a bit of a last-ditch attempt to find a system that could work for the players he had at his disposal.

However, a comfortable 3-0 win in Yorkshire – where Adomah scored twice – was an early indication that Bruce might have finally been on the right track, and it certainly lifted some of the pressure that had been building on his shoulders with the supporters frustrated at the lack of progress he had made after almost a year in charge at Villa Park.

The Midlands outfit have since registered a home 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest last Saturday and a comprehensive 4-0 success against Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday night, propelling them up the Championship table and towards the play-off positions.

Adomah and Snodgrass have quickly become the two key men in the new formation, with the former adding to the two goals he scored against Barnsley by adding one against Forest and another against the Brewers.

Meanwhile the Scot finally came to life – having understandably looked a little rusty in his early appearances following his loan move from West Ham United – against Burton by scoring one, having another disallowed, assisting one as well as picking up a pre-assist for Josh Onomah’s goal.

While those two and the likes of Hourihane and Davis have really stepped up to the plate recently, Villa are far from perfect and the jury is firmly still out on whether players like Glenn Whelan and Ahmed Elmohamady should be included in the strongest starting XI on a regular basis.

Bruce’s men host bottom-of-the-table Bolton Wanderers at Villa Park on Saturday in what looks like it should be a win on paper, but the real test of their promotion credentials will come after the clash against the Trotters when they face Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham, Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday in four of their next five fixtures, as well as a local derby against Birmingham City.

Aston Villa certainly aren’t the finished article yet, but led by Terry at the back they are finally showing signs that they can compete for promotion back to the Premier League, and it is all thanks to the old-fashioned 4-4-2 formation.