Henri Lansbury: Jonathan Kodjia has the right to be selfish at Aston Villa

The Ivory Coast international netted his 18th of the season on Tuesday night as Steve Bruce's team defeated QPR 1-0 and now needs just two more to become the first Villa player since Peter Withe to score 20 during a league campaign.

Kodjia, who joined Villa in a deal worth £15million last summer, has become a firm fans' favourite and his goalscoring exploits have been hailed by both his manager and team-mates.

And though Bruce has previously admitted the 27-year-old can be a bit of a "free spirit" when it comes to his approach play, Lansbury claims no-one at the club cares so long as he keeps scoring.

"He just wants to score goals," said the midfielder. "Some of the time he could pass it but he keeps putting the ball in the back of the net.

"You don't mind shouting at him a few times if he is going to whack one in and we win 1-0."

Tuesday's win was Villa's fourth on the bounce and seventh in eight games, moving them to within nine points of the play-offs.

With just six games remaining, Bruce has conceded his team may have timed their run too late but Lansbury insists players have not given up hope.

"We take it game by game and when it comes down to crunch time we will see who really wants it," he said.

"All we can do is keep going out there and putting in performances."

He continued: "There is a positive vibe around the place. There is a buzz around the place now. You can see it on the pitch.

"It's just winning, all the boys want to do is win and I think you can see it in the way we defend the goal.

"The boys have been fantastic. We just have to keep grinding on now until the end of the season."