Tom Cleverley paid tribute to manager Tim Sherwood, who he feels has turned around the fortunes of Aston Villa since replacing Paul Lambert in February.
Villa are now six points above the relegation zone following Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Sherwood's former team Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
At one stage earlier this season Villa were in the relegation zone but, with five games remaining, they are now well placed to avoid the drop.
Cleverley said of Sherwood: “He’s brought belief and a bounce into people’s strides. That’s no disrespect to Paul Lambert I liked him.
“He is good and has given people confidence and made everyone feel a part of it which has given people confidence.”
But Cleverley says Villa are still not certain of playing Premier League football next season and have to remain on their guard.
He added: “Safe now? No, definitely not. You’ve just got to look at someone like West Brom. You’d have thought they were safe a couple of weeks ago but they’ve been dragged right back into it.
“So we won’t be taking our foot off the gas and we have got a big semi-final to look forward to next week at Wembley.”