Wednesday Dec 07 2005 08:40
Aston Villa defender Liam Ridgewell insists all the players are determined to do all they can to keep under-fire manager David O'Leary in his job.
Last week's 3-0 Carling Cup drubbing at League One side Doncaster Rovers piled the pressure on the beleaguered former Leeds United manager and the criticism has continued despite the battling 1-1 draw at Newcastle United on Saturday.
"We knew we had to put on a performance not just for ourselves but for the manager as well," said Ridgewell.
"He has come in for a lot of stick, but we haven't listened to it. We concentrate on doing it on the pitch for the gaffer and he's backed us to turn it around and we repaid that faith with a good result.
"We performed really well and I thought we were really solid at the back - especially after what happened last week and we'll take that on to Bolton (on Saturday).
"I think Saturday's performance went a long way to making up for last Tuesday, especially to the fans who travelled such a long distance following us.
"We're three games unbeaten in the Premiership and we've got over the cup upset. We showed we can bounce back and we showed a lot of courage.
"You can't show much more character and heart than going to Newcastle and coming back from being 1-0 down and then go close to snatching three points."
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