Sporting icon Michael Johnson sprinted into Bodymoor Heath today to chat to Martin O'Neill about speed and agility in football.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist was on hand to offer his opinion on new techniques in sport which could give Villa forwards the edge over their Premier League rivals.

Johnson, who has opened a new athletics centre in his home city of Dallas, is the current 400m world record holder while his 200m record, beaten by Usain Bolt at the recent Olympics, stood for an unbelievable 12 years.

So if there is anyone to hand advice to the Villa speed merchants, it is the American sprint legend.

In an AVTV exclusive, Johnson said: "It was great to meet Martin and his coaching staff.

"They clearly know all about football - what I can do is look at other aspects of the game.

"The football skill of the Villa players is clearly at the peak level - but I can help with speed, agility, quickness and teach them how to accelerate and decelerate better.

"I was here to chat to Martin about my ideas and new techniques."

And that means Johnson may even be able to turn England star in the making Gabby Agbonlahor into an even faster threat.

He added: "He has great straight-line speed but he won't always run in a straight line!

"That's one of the things I work on. It's not just speed for speed's sake. It is speed relative to the position he plays.

"He has to be able to change direction quicker and I think that would make him an even better player."

MON was absolutely delighted to meet one of the greatest sportsmen of all time.

He added: "It was amazing. He was an exceptional runner and one of the greatest athletes of all-time. Michael is the only man in history to win both the 200m and 400m at the same Olympics - in Atlanta in 1996.

"It was an absolute privilege to meet him.

"He has some ideas. He has opened an athletic centre and has new thoughts on how to improve fitness, speed and agility.

"He has some really innovative ideas and it was really great to chat to him about them.

"If there is anything that could improve my players, of course I am always interested."

Stay tuned to AVTV for the exclusive video interview with the sprint king. If you aren't a subscriber, click below.