O'Neill looks to wipe out March misery by ending 12-match winless run

03 March 2010 11:06
No wins in March as Villa boss: Martin O'Neill [LNB]Martin O'Neill will be looking to put an end to a bizarre unwanted record in Aston Villa's FA Cup quarter-final at Reading on Sunday - by claiming his first win in March since taking charge nearly four years ago.[LNB]The third month of the year has not been kind to O'Neill since he replaced David O'Leary in the Villa Park hotseat during the summer of 2006.[LNB]Villa failed to register a single victory in March 2007, 2008 and 2009 - a total of 12 matches.[LNB]Last season was particularly miserable despite Villa entering the month five points clear of Arsenal in the race for a Champions League spot.[LNB]A return of one point from four Barclays Premier League games during that period was the start of a dismal end to the campaign which eventually saw them overhauled by the Gunners and Everton.[LNB]But the visit to Coca-Cola Championship strugglers Reading would appear to be an ideal chance to bury that hoodoo as Villa look to bounce back from their Carling Cup final defeat against Manchester United on Sunday.[LNB]Skipper Stiliyan Petrov said: 'We are a bit down at the moment after Sunday's result but that will drive these players more to come back to Wembley again.[LNB] Last time out: Steven Gerrard nets his third and Liverpool's fifth against Villa last year[LNB]'We have a great bunch of boys and we will keep fighting because this club wants to go forward and we want to win things.[LNB]'The FA Cup is a great competition. I won Scottish Cups at Celtic so I would love to go all the way to the final and win the main English cup.[LNB]'The Villa fans had to wait 10 years to get to Wembley before Sunday so it would be great to do it twice for them and the club in one season.'[LNB]MARCH-ING TOWARDS OBLIVION - VILLA UNDER O'NEILL3 Mar 2007Fulham 1 - 1Aston Villa14 Mar 2007 Aston Villa 0 - 1Arsenal18 Mar 2007Aston Villa0 - 0 Liverpool1 Mar 2008Arsenal1-1Aston Villa12 Mar 2008Aston Villa1-1Middlesbrough15 Mar 2008Portsmouth 2-0Aston Villa22 Mar 2008Aston Villa0-1Sunderland29 Mar 2008 Man Utd4-0Aston Villa1 Mar 2009Aston Villa 2-2Stoke4 Mar 2009 Man City 2-0Aston Villa15 Mar 2009Aston Villa1-2Tottenham22 Mar 2009 Liverpool5-0Aston VillaPlayed 12Won 0Drawn 4Lost 8 Young rules out England return as Villa star fumes: I wasn't taken seriouslySportsmail looks at the stars who played again after horrific leg breaksJames Milner blasts: Wembley is even worse than a lower-league pitch!Milner puts himself forward to go back into defence for England boss CapelloASTON VILLA FC

Source: Daily_Mail