Captain Gareth Barry insists Villa’s Euro dream is still alive after claiming Saturday’s 4-0 win against Bolton could ‘turn’ their season.
Villa remain eight points adrift of the only UEFA Cup place with five games left after Everton’s 1-0 win over Derby yesterday.
Their more realistic hope is to claim England’s only Intertoto Cup spot as they remain ahead of fellow applicants Blackburn and Manchester City. FA Cup finalists Portsmouth haven’t entered.
“If you’re struggling for confidence or things aren’t going well, a one-off performance like this can turn your season,” said Barry, whose brace took his total to seven this season.
“We now have five massive games and there’s a lot at stake. It’s going to be hard for us to get fifth spot, but it’s still achievable. Until it’s not, we’ll keep aiming for it.
“We will take this confidence to Derby next Saturday – and right the way through to the last game of the season.
“It was a much-needed win. Recent results had gone against us and our confidence was a bit low but this was a perfect result and now we’re looking to finish the season strongly.”
Fellow scorer Gabriel Agbonlahor also believes Villa can still do it.
“This can be a platform for us now,” he said. “We’ve got games we can win.
“We’ve had a bad run, but other people can slip up and it’s up to us to win our games and see where that leaves us.
“We were determined to get ourselves back in the hunt for Europe.”
Agbonlahor revealed boss Martin O’Neill has been key to keeping his spirits high after ending his 12-match goal drought with his first of 2008.
“The gaffer’s been brilliant through the run,” he said. “He’s told me to play my normal game and the goals would come. What matters is the team scoring, not who scores them.”
Loading ...
Share this article:
What are these?