Aston Villa Football Club News

• Nickname:The Villains
• Founded:1874
• Manager:Alex McLeish

• Ground:Villa Park
• Capacity:42,584

Villa passage pleases O'Neill

29 Aug 2008 - 07:41:08

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Martin O'Neill praised Aston Villa's professional performance after they booked their place in the UEFA Cup following a 1-1 qualifying draw with Hafnarfjordur.

Villa will now feature in Friday's draw in Monaco after a 5-2 aggregate victory over the Icelandic side.

Craig Gardner's first-half strike at Villa Park put the tie out of reach of the visitors on Thursday evening.

"It was a job done - exactly that," said O'Neill.

"I was hoping we would pick up the tempo of the game and sustain it for longer than we did but, after scoring four goals in Iceland and making a few changes, we got through and that is what counts.

"We have won okay in the end and to have 25,000 turning out, especially with the game live on television, I thought was fantastic.

"We are in the hat now which is great. It is still another two-legged affair but it would be great to then get through to the group stages."

Meanwhile, O'Neill has revealed his intention to make more new signings before the transfer window closes in a bid to keep his squad competitive both domestically and in Europe this season.

He added: "It would be great if we can sustain the progress in the Premier League. That is naturally so important but why not have a crack in Europe?

"If we can, between now and Monday evening, get a couple of people in, which we have been trying furiously to do, then it would give us all a lift and maybe sustain us for the months ahead."