 His time at the club was short after the entire team was signed by Panteg after a number of impressive performances.Working as an apprentice electrician, it was here that he was spotted by Cardiff City who offered him a professional contract in the summer of 1971.Villars soon established himself in the first team, making his debut in a 4–3 defeat to Fulham in November 1971 with an impressive performance that lead teammate Ian Gibson to comment "Tony's got the lot, speed, balance and control.