Source: Telegraph
Aston Villa's Gabby Agbonlahor confident of regaining fans' support
Although the 22-year-old has been one of the biggest talking points of the season, his electric pace in front of goal bringing him to the attention of England manager Fabio Capello, he has not found the net in the last seven games - all of which Villa have failed to win. [LNB]Agbonlahor was unable to make a nuisance of himself against a Spurs defence wise to his threat on the counter attack, and although he has played in almost every game this season, much of the time as a lone front-man, he appeared to have become the target of many fans' exasperation at the team's recent results, for they cheered their No 11's substitution for Nathan Delfouneso, a 17-year-old who made even less of an impact on the game. [LNB] Related ArticlesBarry refuses to lose heart over Villa slump[LNB]Villa start to show the strain[LNB]O'Neill in line for England job[LNB]Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill fears fan fall-out after Tottenham loss[LNB]Gareth Barry helps Aston Villa secure Uefa Cup first-leg solid lead[LNB]Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea player ratings[LNB]But the Birmingham-born forward insists that he will not let their disenchantment affect him. Like any striker, he knows that the bad patch must end sooner or later, and having scored 11 goals already this season, he knows he has made a significant contribution to the team. [LNB]'People forget how many goals I have got,' he said. 'It really doesn't bother me what people say - that I haven't scored for X number of games. I know the goals will come. They always do. The service is good. If you look at last season, I went through a similar run. I am not worried at all. I had a similar spell and ended up with a few goals. [LNB]'We've been unlucky the last few games. We are disappointed but we've got to get our heads up and look forward to Sunday. We had enough chances early on. In the first half we were on top. They had a lucky break with the first goal and the second goal was a killer.' [LNB]Gareth Barry, the club's stand-in captain, suggested that the loss to Tottenham has punctured the renewed confidence which was built up during their recent break in Dubai, especially as the result means that the race for fourth place is no longer in their hands. [LNB]'I wouldn't say that,' Agbonlahor countered. 'If you look at games like Everton when we scored late, that sort of thing evens itself out over a season. These are two massive away games now. [LNB]"If you look at the table, we are level on points with Arsenal and they have got tough games to come as well. We have to look to go to Liverpool and get something and Manchester United as well. We have to try and get our form back away from home. [LNB]'We are looking to try and win every game for the rest of the season and, if we can do that, you never know. [LNB]"Liverpool have had two great results but we can go there and always cause an upset like we have done against big teams in the past. We lost at Newcastle and then put in a great performance to win at Arsenal. [LNB]'I just think we are a bit unlucky at the moment. Maybe we've had a lot of luck in other games we won during our long run so hopefully we will get it back and start putting away the chances. [LNB]"I think we can keep the challenge going to the end of the season. We are not going to throw away the hard work we have done. We know it is going to be tough but it will be tough for them as well.'[LNB]
