Martin Laursen is confident that Aston Villa can claim a
European spot come the end of the season.
The Danish defender has played a key role in helping the side into
sixth place in the Premier League and they currently sit just two
points outside the UEFA Champions League positions.
With most of the sides around them on FA Cup duty this weekend,
Villa have the opportunity to move into fourth spot if they can
claim all three points at home to Blackburn on Saturday.
While victory would move them ever closer to securing European
football for the first time in seven years Laursen has revealed
that nobody at the club is getting carried away just yet.
Massive
achievement
"The big four are still very big, so to stay where we are now and
go into Europe would be a massive achievement," he said in the
Daily Express.
"Then next year if we qualify for Europe this season, we can say
great. But we should be satisfied with the Uefa Cup to start
with.
"There are plenty of games left, so if we get carried away now and
think we can qualify for the Champions League, we will lose focus
on the next game.
Real potential
"That's almost the most important thing, even at this stage,
because we still have four months of the season to go.
"We can achieve things here. We have a good team and a lot of young
players with real potential and a real desire to do well.
"We are playing attractive football, so everything is moving in the
right direction.
"That's why I am so happy to have committed myself for another
two-and-a-half years to this club because there is something for
the future."
