O'Neill not giving up on top four

23 March 2009 16:07
But he concedes his young side, now fifth and three points behind Arsenal, must come to terms with the demands of a title race and not allow their season to "disintegrate." Villa suffered their worst defeat under O'Neill, compounded by the unlucky red card that saw goalkeeper Brad Friedel dismissed in the second half of Sunday's defeat at Anfield. Friedel maintains he should not have been sent off for bringing down Fernando Torres - while O'Neill claims "there was no intent - he was trying to get out of the way." Unfortunately for Villa, they could not get out of the way of the Liverpool juggernaut that is gathering so much momentum of late. O'Neill has seen his team go eight games in all competitions without a victory. "It has been a tough time for all of us - we accept that," he said. "The younger players in our squad have to experience these periods when things don't go well. "This is what it is all about if you are going to play at the very top, and if you want to be at that level. "You cannot just do it for one week of the year - if you want to be there on a regular basis then this is what it takes." He is confident his squad will be able to show their true potential in the remainder of the season. "I believe the players can learn from all this - not just after losing at Liverpool but in other recent games when we haven't played well.," O'Neill added. "One good week in four or five is not enough. You have to compete all the time - week in week out, match after match. That is what the big teams are doing. "We have an exceptionally tough game at Manchester United when we return from the international break, then we have Everton and West Ham. "We still have a target. The Champions League is still reachable, and Arsenal have some extremely difficult games left." O'Neill hopes recent results may work in his team's favour in the longer term, because the pressure of expectation has waned. "From what people have seen recently, you would not think there would be much of a threat left from our team to Arsenal's position," he reasons. "We are in a lull - the players are down in terms of confidence. They can be a bit brittle from game to game, sometimes from minute to minute. "But the players must take something from the last few games; they must see how they can turn things around. Liverpool are the example, and we must come out of this. "Arsenal have won their last game - they are getting their (injured) players back. For us, they are the benchmark, the team we must catch." O'Neill is happy that Villa are still close to the performance level which served them so well through most of the winter. "We were winning games confidently a few weeks ago, but performances have certainly dipped," he admits. "We are not as strong as the other four teams above us, in terms of strength in depth and the fact that they have been over the course before and know that this is the crucial part of the season. "Those top sides find themselves in the top four and with the squads to cope. They are also in the Champions League still, so it is no fluke that they are doing this. "It is exceptionally hard work for them, but they are all there again at the top. Credit to them. "We have a lot of catching up to do in every aspect. It has been a really fine effort by my team this season to even be up there at the top, and now we must not just disintegrate. "The players are away now with their national sides, so when they return we must re-group and be ready for the next game at Manchester United. "We must start winning games again, and when we start doing that we will restore our confidence." Prem To Finish In Top 4 2008/09 Win Outright: Aston Villa 7/2

Source: Team_Talk