A rollercoaster ride for Villa striker

After a rollercoaster of a season for Villa so far, Gabby Agbonlahor is understandably wary of a trip to the home of the UK's biggest theme park.

Blackpool's Pleasure Beach brings in an average of six million visitors a year, and although the football club does not pull in anywhere near those numbers, they have been one of the star attractions of this Premier League season.

A shock victoy over Liverpool catapulted the Seasiders into the limelight and they are only a point behind Villa in the Premier League table.

Agbonlahor is steeled for an intimidating atmosphere at Bloomfield Road tomorrow but admits the prospect does not daunt him as much as a go on the Pepsi Max Big One - Europe's largest rollercoaster.

He said: "I've been there but I wasn't a fan. I'm not one for rides so it's not really my cup of tea - I'm a bit scared of them!

"Admittedly I've never played at Bloomfield Road but I've seen it on television and it looks like a hostile atmosphere.

"That's what teams like that need from their home fans and they've done well this season.

"I think Blackpool will be a tough game, especially this season. No game's easy at all. You're not guaranteed a win but we're still looking to go into every game and try and win.

"The way Blackpool have played this season they've got nothing to lose. They just want to go and play their football and that's why they've got a lot of results this season.

"I think it's great for the Premier League. Can they stay up? Yes, definitely. Look at the results they've got and where they are now.

"But I think it's one of those seasons where no-one's safe at the moment. I think it's going to go right to the end."

Villa have sold out their allocation for the fixture and many fans are set to make a long weekend of the trip to the coast.

And Agbonlahor is determined to give the travelling army something to shout about.

He said: "I have heard that all our fans are travelling. We have our maximum allocation of fans which is good. We have a point to prove because it's an offensive team. I think it will be a very open game.

"When we were in difficulty and in the bottom three, I would say I will never forget the presence of the fans at Sheffield United in the FA Cup.

"They sucked in the goals and pushed us into that performance and victory. They were so, so good. There were 5,000 there. They were brilliant.

"Just for the fans, because they will be travelling in numbers, we need to put in a performance there."

The match will also have a bit of extra spice after the row which broke out between Ian Holloway and Gerard Houllier over Villa's pursuit of Tangerines captain Charlie Adam.

Agbonlahor is a fan of the Scottish playmaker but believes Villa already have a lot of talented players and the demand for first-team places is healthy.

He said: "I think the way Charlie has been playing this season shows that he's a very good player.

"If you look at our squad we've got very good midfield players ourselves, including the likes of Barry Bannan and a few of the other younger lads.

"With the players in midfield we've now got a lot of competition there. As long as you're playing in a team as big as Villa you can't really argue. You've got to look at other players like Nicolas Anelka at Chelsea, they're not guaranteed to play where they want to play.

"You've just got to fill in where you can and do the best job you can."

Agbonlahor has been forced to adapt his own game to fit into Houllier's plans and has been deployed as a winger in recent matches.

The 24-year-old admitted he is prepared to play in whatever position Houllier wants as long as he is in the starting line-up.

He said: "I think from what I've showed so far on the wing, I don't do as well as I do if I play as a striker. But if I keep getting picked I must have done a quite decent job.

"One game you might play on the wing, the next one you might play up front. We've got such a good team spirit that no-one's really moaning and we're just getting on with it.

"It's been new to me this season, but it's been nice to learn a different position instead of just playing in one.

"We've got such a good squad. You only have to look at Emile Heskey who has done well this season but he's been missing out himself.

"We have got some big players who can't get a game, so it's a season where we've all got to stick together and try and push up the table."