Why Martin O'Neill is still the man to salvage Aston Villa's season following their festive slump

Published 23:00 29/12/09

Rafa-Benitez-Martin-O'Neill-Aston-Villa-Liverpool

When he saw the ball bulge the corner of the Aston Villa net, Martin O'Neill turned away from the sight of it in disgust.

The Villa boss walked towards the bench and made as if he was going to kick something.

Either there was nothing there to kick or he thought better of it. He settled for sinking to his haunches.

And when the final whistle blew a few seconds later, he shook hands with Rafa Benitez and then walked back to the tunnel with his hands clasped around the back of his head.

No wonder. Villa should have won last night. Comfortably. It was a poor game, mainly because it was played in a blizzard, but O'Neill's side fashioned the better chances and failed to take them.

The least they deserved was a point but they were denied even that when a loose ball broke kindly to Fernando Torres in the 93rd minute and he lashed it unerringly past Brad Friedel.

So in the space of 48 hours, Villa have lost to Arsenal and Liverpool, two significant setbacks in their hopes of gatecrashing the top four this season.

To compound their woes, Manchester City and Spurs, their fellow challengers for a Champions League spot, have had a fruitful festive period. And now Liverpool have momentum, too.

Still, at least in O'Neill Villa have a manager who is a master of man-management and motivation. If anyone can lift a team feeling sorry for itself, it's him.

"It is a blow," he said after the match. "It is a real blow. We just need a bit of time to reflect on it. It is difficult to take positives at the moment but we should have won.

"We restricted Liverpool to not so much, which is the disappointing part of it, and their goalkeeper made a couple of terrific saves as well as our missed chances.

"It is a setback but it is not the end of the world. I don't think it will damage our confidence because we played well. We will fight back."

If they can shrug off the disappointment and the sense of injustice before their Premier League campaign resumes with an away game at Wigan Athletic in ten days, there is no reason why Villa should not continue to challenge strongly for the top four.

Missing Emile Heskey and Ashley Young last night, they still looked like a well-balanced side packed with talent.

They miss a player of the quality of Torres or Steven Gerrard but on last night's evidence they have a better balanced side than Liverpool this season.

Only a fantastic reaction save from Pepe Reina denied Stewart Downing just before half time and John Carew should have scored with a header from six yards out that he directed just the wrong side of the post.

They are fine, fine margins but before too many people start saying the last few days have shown Villa haven't quite got what it takes, let's not forget they have already beaten Chelsea and Manchester United this season.

Like City and Spurs, they are getting closer and closer to getting where they want to be.

The irony of last night's reverse was that in many ways it showed how much Villa have narrowed the gap on teams like Liverpool.

It was a sickening blow but it does not need to ruin their season. They are sixth in the table, only three points from where they want to be.

If they can put what happened here last night out of their minds, there is still plenty of time for them to reach their goal.

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