No club has made the first etching on the Premier League crown
yet and the fact that Liverpool are continuously dropping points
means that the gap between first and fifth is now just six
points.
All of the traditional big four clubs are now regarded as in with a
shout of winning the Premier League, as are fourth-placed Aston
Villa.
Martin O'Neill was recently asked in a post-match interview whether
the Villans harbour title ambitions of their own, to which the
Ulsterman retorted with the immortal line: "Have you been
drinking?"
Goalkeeper Brad Friedel is also quick to distance such talk, and
believes it is far more important to remain focussed on each
matchday.
"I don't think about where we are in the Barclays Premier
League. I think of one game at a time," he told AVTV.
"That's all you can think about. I don't get carried away with
the table. I'm not going to get carried away with any outside talk
either.
"We don't have the luxury of going into games thinking we are
better than we are," he said. "We have a lot of hard work ahead of
ourselves.
"It's a tight league - and it's the toughest one in the world in
my opinion - and we have to stay focused.
"We cannot think ahead, other than the next game on the fixture
list."
Aston Villa will contest the fourth round of the FA Cup this
weekend, and will travel to either Cheltenham or Doncaster - who
are yet to conclude their third round replay.