Villa blogger Dave Bytheway will be glad to see the back of March after a troubled month for his club.

It’s nearly April and all I can say is as a Villa fan is that I am glad March is over – again!

Reading a report last week, I discovered that our manager Martin O’Neill hasn’t won a Premier League game in nine years in the month of March, and the trend has continued into 2009.

March has been one of the most disappointing and demoralising months I have known as a Villa fan. Maybe O’Neill was right in what he said, that us fans are expecting too much from the players, but he wasn’t correct in assuming it was just the ‘new breed’ of Villa fan here for the ride.

I know many fans, as well as myself, who have been ardent supporters all our lives, and we share the same disappointment as every fan. We haven’t known much recent success with Villa, and therefore were surely entitled to think that when the reserves were sent to Moscow, we could get a little excited about the rest of the Premier League season.

The truth is we haven’t won a game since, picking up only one point. It looks like resting the players and taking them to Dubai hasn’t had the effect that was planned, I just hope we can actually make a little bit of a go of it in April and May – and not let the season be a total waste.

The game at Liverpool was in my eyes a total embarassment. OK, we were outclassed in most parts, but we have been outclassed before this season and still played with enough character to win games.

This was missing on Sunday, the fight we have come to know and love from O’Neill’s players was nowhere to be seen. After going 2-0 down their heads just dropped, so they played as though they knew they were going to lose and basically gave up.

If this is the future of this team then changes need to be made and quickly. No excuses this time, the transfer window is long enough in the summer to find and sign the players we need.

We seriously can’t listen to any more ‘small squad’ excuses, no more ‘playing out of position’ excuses. This is Aston Villa Football Club we’re talking about, not some Sunday morning pub team.

We need to move on from the last six weeks or so and try to finish the job we started back in July. Put it behind us, give everything to get that fourth place, because if we continue the way we are this season will always be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Enjoy the international break.

Up the Villa!