Martin O’Neill looking for quick reaction with Liverpool
latest challenge
Villa aim to bounce back
from Arsenal loss
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Channel 27: "Live" (Wed Morning)
Aston Villa - Liverpool - 3:45 am
Perspective is a rare commodity in the Barclays Premier League, but Martin
O’Neill, win or lose, manages better than most to take a calm overview in the
final analysis. Aston Villa’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on
Sunday, he believes, should be taken in the context of an excellent season at
the Midlands club.
Similarly, the Villa manager takes a considered stance on the reported demise
of Liverpool, who visit Villa Park this evening. Rafael Benítez’s side may have
slipped out of the Champions League and are well off the pace in the Premier
League but, O’Neill says, a revival in their fortunes may be imminent.
“Liverpool have lost a few games more than they would have thought,” O’Neill
said. “Last season, they were terrific. They went through the whole season and
lost two games. After three games of this season, they had lost two games, but
they are getting a bit of momentum again.
“It was a big win for them at Anfield against Wolves [2-0] at the weekend. I
heard Arsenal were supposed to be imploding last season, just about February
time, when I think they were in the middle of a 21-game unbeaten run. They
finished the season very strongly and Liverpool are capable of doing the same
thing.
“They are capable because it’s Liverpool Football Club. Look at Arsenal now.
Four weeks ago, they were being written off for the title; now they are right
bang in there. That’s what can happen with the top clubs.
“I’m not too bothered about who says what [after the Arsenal defeat]. I
didn’t get too carried away when we went to Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago
and won there. It was three points, it was a boost to confidence and it was
terrific. But, equally, any side can go to Arsenal and get beaten. I wouldn’t
start to think the result was a major shock all over Europe. You can get beaten.
What we have to do is fight back against Liverpool.”
Richard Dunne, the Villa central defender, concurs. Even with Ashley Young
absent tonight because of suspension, Dunne sees no reason for panic.
“We’ve done well, we’ve not got overly confident and started to believe in
stuff,” he said. “We can’t let [the Arsenal] result set us back. We just have to
forget about it and move on to Tuesday night. There are so many teams who are
losing games and then, a couple of weeks later, are back in it. The manager just
told us the main thing is how we react to defeats and [tonight] is the perfect
opportunity against another side who are pushing for the top four. We have to
put in a performance and get back on track.”
Alberto Aquilani, who made his first Premier League start in the win over
Wolverhampton Wanderers, remains convinced that Liverpool are a better team than
their form suggests. The Italy midfield player readily admits, however, that he
needs to improve his fitness if he is to come to terms with the speed of the
English game and become a first-team regular.
“I really enjoyed the game as it was important for me,” he said. “But I want
to improve my fitness. It was so different to anything I have experienced; it
was so quick and you never really had much time. The football we played was so
fast, but the most important thing was that we won.
“We need to improve our confidence, we need to keep winning games to move up
the table. It is crucial to take things step by step but our aim is now to win
three, four and five games in a row. If we can do that, we will see where that
takes us. The team does not deserve it’s current low standing. We’ve had
difficulties, but we will come out of this.”
Aston Villa (possible; 4-4-1-1): B Friedel — L Young, C Cuéllar, R
Dunne, S Warnock — J Milner, S Sidwell, S Petrov, S Downing — E Heskey — G
Agbonlahor.
Liverpool (possible; 4-4-1-1): J M Reina — G Johnson, J Carragher, D
Agger, E Insúa — D Kuyt, Lucas Leiva, A Aquilani, F Aurélio — S Gerrard — F
Torres.
Referee: P Walton.
