O'Neill targeting more home comforts

03 May 2009 09:46
Villa will be aiming to win in front of their own supporters for the first time in nearly four months when they take on Hull in the Premier League on Monday. They have triumphed only five times at Villa Park compared to 10 victories on their travels during the current campaign. But O'Neill is adamant his players do not have any fear of playing at home as they look to cement fifth place ahead of Everton. The former Celtic boss said: "There is no question that we haven't picked up enough points at Villa Park. "I am fearful of analysing too much what has happened, because we were winning so many matches away, it didn't seem that significant. "That really speaks volumes for the team in terms of not being frightened to go to any stadium. "My own view is that we have been a bit unlucky here in matches we should have won at home and I am thinking about Fulham, Wigan and Stoke in particular. "They all ended in draws when they should have been victories and an extra six points would have meant we would still be challenging Arsenal. "Those points are proving very important at the end of the season and they all tot up. The home form is something we will try and address next season." But O'Neill insisted: "It is not a case of the players being frightened of playing at home. It is absolutely the opposite. "They love it and the crowd have been really brilliant. "The atmosphere at Villa Park has been fantastic in recent games. Even when we were 2-0 and 3-1 down to Everton recently, they stayed with us." Villa have gone 12 games without a win and O'Neill can understand how Hull have found it difficult to end their own recent dismal run of form which has left them hovering just above the relegation zone. He said: "Hull would probably have gone with the rest of the promoted sides into the season with excitement and a bit of trepidation. "They had such a fantastic start, after nine or 10 games they had more points than Manchester United. They were very heady days. But it is a long season. "I am sure they thought because of the start, while it was still going to be a bit of an endurance test, that they would get to around 40 points more quickly than they have done. "What happens is you lose confidence and start to want to know where the next win comes through and what is particularly unappealing is when you play very well in a game and get beaten. "Then it starts to bother you. The league is unforgiving. It is difficult if you get on a losing streak. It is hard to pull it around. "I am sure when they got the last minute goal to win against Fulham at Craven Cottage they thought 'that's it' that it was the little bit of luck they needed, and it just hasn't proved that way." Villa right-back Luke Young will have to play through the pain barrier if he is to participate in the final four games of the campaign. Young missed the 1-1 draw at Bolton with a foot injury which has dogged him for several weeks but O'Neill is hopeful he can return to training on Saturday. Striker Gabriel Agbonlahor and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker could also come into contention after recent hamstring and knee setbacks.

Source: Team_Talk