Source: Team_Talk
O'Neill taking no chances at Wolves
After a 3-1 win at Anfield and draw at home to Manchester City, Villa again proved their credentials by coming from behind to see off Carlo Ancelotti's side 2-1 last Saturday.
The fight for a place in the top six of the Premier League, never mind the top four, will be harder than ever this season - so Villa know they must not under-perform against opponents like Wolves.
O'Neill promises Villa will not fail for want of effort.
"We will be up for the game. We can still lose the match, but we will be right for the game," said the Villa boss.
"The players have gained a lot of confidence from the Manchester City and Chelsea matches.
"We're ready for it. I've already said to the players how difficult the game is going to be. They will be as ready for the game as we possibly can.
"That might not be good enough on the day - but they will be ready for it."
O'Neill insists his team have not once let him down with their performance level this season - and they cannot afford to either.
"The game we lost against Blackburn, I still don't feel we should have lost," he said.
"But having lost, people will read into it that maybe we weren't up for the game. That's simply not true. You can be really up for a game and you can lose it.
"I don't think we're good enough to treat people lightly - and I don't think that has been the case in any of the games. It certainly won't be the case on Saturday.
"There's enough ingredients there - it's away from home; it's a derby and it's against a side you know will keep going right to the end."
O'Neill is notably equivocal about the prospect of another all-west midlands encounter.
"I'm not sure the atmosphere will be that different (from the Birmingham derby) - I expect it to be hostile," he predicted.
"But I'm looking forward to the game in as much as you can look forward to a derby game - which is not greatly."
Starting at Molineux, Villa face the daunting prospect of five matches in 15 days - something which will certainly provide a stern test for a small squad, in comparison to their Premier League rivals.
With plenty of players knocking on the door for first-team inclusion, O'Neill knows there could soon be chances for those on the fringes as the club look to extend a nine-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
"At this moment, we've got one or two players who could easily be in the team and who are not," he points out.
"But things change so quickly in the game.
"Before, because of our European exit, we missed out on a couple of midweek games. Now suddenly in the next few weeks, we have got five games in pretty quick succession.
"So right up until the next international break, the players can really focus."
