Tuesday, 29
December 2009
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.
