Martin O’Neill wants to embark on his biggest spending spree since he took charge of Villa this summer.
The Villa boss has held talks with chairman Randy Lerner this week and wants to strengthen with quality and quantity - whether or not this season ends in UEFA Cup football.
“Getting competition for places with a bit of real quality is our aim and something we definitely have a real drive and determination to do,” said O’Neill.
“For us to challenge, we need to address the size of the squad for a start.
“I’ve been delighted with them this season but if we’re going to sustain a big campaign next year, we need a bigger squad.
“That’s what we need if we’re looking at the possibility of us playing European football, decent runs in cup competitions and have a real sustained effort in the league. We can get more competition for places - which would be fantastic - and improve again.”Lerner watched the Second City derby last Sunday and hopes to be at this Sunday’s possible UEFA Cup place decider at Everton.
O’Neill said all deals are on hold while he focuses fully on trying to get Villa into Europe.
“I had a conversation with the chairman on Monday,” said O’Neill. “He’s hoping to be at the Everton game and we’ve decided we’re not going to actively pursue targets while we’re still trying to qualify for Europe.
“It doesn’t mean in quieter moments I don’t have people to be thinking about, and we still want to get things up and running. We’re scouting players all over Europe.
Villa go into the Everton game seeking the win that will put them fifth but O’Neill insists their target remains three victories to end the season.
“We can’t afford to re-assess our targets,” he said. “The Everton game is still so big. There’s little point in us thinking about 18 points out of 18 if we can’t get one out of three.
“Treating the games on merit and getting the points has given us this chance.
“It’s a tall order, but we essentially have it in our own hands and we can still do it.”
O’Neill said Lerner wanted to get away from the contrasting American ownerships of Villa and Liverpool, who are divided by the warring duo Georg Gillett and Tom Hicks.
“He gets compared and contrasted all the time with the boys at Liverpool because supposedly there’s no in-fighting here,” said O’Neill.
“He didn’t want to be considered a knight in shining armour. He wanted me to try to get that across because the next thing you know it can explode in your face.”
One Comment
Crouch