Former Villa and Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino has urged the claret and blues to ban any talk of their Stamford Bridge massacre ahead of Saturday’s rematch.

The claret and blues head to Wembley for the second time in little over a month bidding for retribution for their 7-1 humiliation – the club’s heaviest defeat in 46 years – at the hands of Carlo Ancelotti’s men in the Premier League just a fortnight ago.

Last Saturday’s 1-0 at Bolton began the healing process, but confidence in the claret and blue camp will be fragile going into the FA Cup semi-final showdown.

As the preparations begin to hot up for the encounter, Cascarino believes silence will be golden when it comes to dealing with the damage caused by the defeat.

The 47-year-old said: “First and foremost, it shocked everyone in football that Martin O’Neill’s team could be beaten so convincingly. It’s just unlike an O’Neill team.

“Will it happen again? Probably not for a long time. Will it affect the semi-final? I doubt it as it’s a one-off game. Many players in football will tell you that what happened that particular day is pretty much irrelevant.

“I think Martin will know that it was a one-off game. I think he knows the character of his group. He will get them right for the semi-final and it probably won’t even be mentioned.

“You don’t want to be pointing fingers at the semi-final at Wembley. They all know they let Villa down that day. Sometimes silence can be the best way of dealing with players.”

Cascarino, who played for both club’s during the 1990′s, reckons Villa will have to find their ‘A game’ if they are to have any chance of seeing off the league leaders, who kick off Saturday’s showdown as 8/13 odds-on favourites for the Cup.

He said: “If Martin O’Neill’s teams do not have an edge about them and they are not competing in every department they are not a very good side.

“They are a decent side but not a top four side. They are not as good as Everton for me but a little bit like them – Everton have a little more quality with the likes of Louis Saha, Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar and Phil Jagielka.

“But when they are on top of their game I think Villa can give anyone a game.”

Two points from nine before last weekend’s win has left Villa’s Champions League dream hanging by a thread.

Cascarino, an FA Cup finalist with Chelsea in 1994, believes the manager needs the team to have a good run-in to avoid criticism over his reluctance to rotate his squad.

He said: “I don’t think Villa have necessarily become a bad side overnight and they’ve ran out of legs. I think what’s happened is that O’Neill likes to play the same XI more often than not. He doesn’t alternate the group on a regular basis. Fabian Delph, Steve Sidwell and Nigel Reo-Coker have not played much football.

“Unfortunately, if it does peter out and they continue the form they showed last year, everyone is going to say it’s deja vu from last year.

“The danger for O’Neill is that people will say ‘well, you knew about this last year and you’ve done the same this year. He will be very conscious that they need to have a good run-in.”

“That’s why he wants to have a bigger squad and have players that are good enough to be in that XI.

“I think Villa’s problem is outside their first 13 or 14 players they are not very strong. That’s why O’Neill has stuck with the same team, because he knows he can’t introduce players into the team that are not good enough.”

Signings like Sidwell, Reo-Coker, Marlon Harewood and Nicky Shorey have failed to have the desired impact at B6, but Cascarino insists no manager can get every signing right.

But the former Republic of Ireland international, who now works in the media, has accused O’Neill of buying too many squad players rather than star names.

He said: “You would like to think they’d have played a bit more football than they have, but Martin likes to keep the connection between players.

“As a manager you are not going to get every transfer right and sometimes your opinion of players’ change the longer you have them.

“Sometimes you don’t get what you think you’re signing. Sometimes they don’t play well. It’s a gamble.

“I’ve always felt Martin has bought a lot of squad players. I don’t think there have been that many outstanding signings such as Zat Knight, Curtis Davies, Luke Young and Nicky Shorey.

“Apart from Stewart Downing and James Milner, who I think are two very good players, he has bought a lot of squad players. Let’s remember Villa and O’Neill haven’t had too many injuries this season. He’s been fortunate being able to name such a regular team.

“Just look at Chelsea, who’ve lost Jose Bosingwa, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien. Manchester United have had Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand out. Tottenham have lost Jermain Defoe.

“Villa have been fortunate. It could have been far worse.”