They may not have been his favourite club this summer – but Villa boss Martin O’Neill admits his side could learn a thing or two from Liverpool.

While the Gareth Barry saga caused friction between the two clubs, O’Neill is an admirer of the Reds’ ability to grind out results, even when not at their best.

Villa conceded a goal at the death to lose at Stoke last weekend, as the Reds celebrated Steven Gerrard’s injury-time winner against Middlesbrough.

It is a knack Rafael Benitez’s side have perfected this season, with Fernando Torres scoring a late winner against Sunderland on the opening day.

Dirk Kuyt’s 118th-minute winner also prevented a penalty shoot-out against Standard Liege in midweek.

O’Neill, who signed James Milner this week, believes such habits are the mark of a top side.

He admits his team will have to show greater resilience if they are to ever achieve such status – starting with the eagerly-anticipated clash with the Reds.

He said: “We needed to be able to see it through at Stoke. Even when you’re in the ascendancy, go and win the game.

“These are the things that Liverpool are renowned for and every club can learn from them. Our intention this year when we set out was to play as brilliantly as possible, entertain the crowd, to go and score some goals.

“Based on entertainment, winning 5-4 every week would be terrific, but at some stage or other you are not going to score goals.

“If you keep conceding cheap goals, it’s going to have a big effect on your season. We could get hammered in this match but we are going out there to win.”

Arsenal earned a reputation for grinding out 1-0 wins under George Graham and Chelsea have recently been labelled as a side who ‘win ugly.’

The Ulsterman concedes it is the victories in those finely poised games which separate the best from the also-rans.

He said: “The great thing about the big clubs who will always be contesting things, is they can win games when they are not playing that well.

“Chelsea’s first performance against Portsmouth was as scintillating as our performance against Manchester City.

“They can then go up to Wigan and not play very well for long periods but grind it out, win the game and get the three points.

“That’s something that we would have to learn. That is the biggest thing.”

It is a habit the Villa boss picked up in his playing career, as a Nottingham Forest player in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

O’Neill added: “I was involved in a championship-winning team at Nottingham Forest and we thrilled a lot of people but there was a period of seven or eight weeks where it was just exactly that.

“Archie Gemmill and John Robertson were driving us forward, it was brilliant and really exciting.

“But that period around February and March time, we were still heavily involved in the League Cup and it was really hard work.

“You just had to get on with it and we won games by the odd goal. That’s what happens and that’s what we need.”

History is against Villa heading into the fixture, as they have not beaten the Anfield club at Villa Park for a decade.

O’Neill said: “I read that somewhere. It would be nice to turn it around but it won’t be easy.”

Villa’s job should at least be made a little easier by the absence of Steven Gerrard but O’Neill insists the Reds have plenty of quality in reserve.

“If any class player on the opposition is missing you always think it will help – but then the likes of Mascherano step in. They have the squad to cope.”

The focus will firmly be on Gareth Barry, who until recently seemed all but certain to be on his way at Anfield.

The midfielder’s future has been resolved for now at least but O’Neill insists Barry has nothing to prove to his former suitors.

O’Neill said: “I’m not so sure he’ll want to show Rafa what he’s missing. What I want him to do is just to go out and play his normal game.

“His normal game over the last two seasons has been plenty good enough. His normal game was the reason Liverpool were interested.

“He will obviously want to play well. The point is that we will all have to play well.

“It won’t be a case of four players being on top of their form. We could not afford that.”

Villa are still without injured midfielder Steve Sidwell but Carlos Cuellar, Nicky Shorey and Luke Young are all in contention. Milner may make his debut.