O´Neill plays down title talk

Aston Villa manager Martin O?Neill refused to contemplate a title challenge after his side recorded a club record seventh consecutive away league victory by dispatching Blackburn 2-0 at Ewood Park.

Villa’s 5,000 travelling supporters are less modest and sang “We’re going to win the league” as their team extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 13 games and three months.

Chelsea’s draw with Hull allowed Villa to move two points ahead of the London club, with the teams set to meet in two weeks time although O’Neill, true to form, is attempting to play down the growing hysteria among his club’s fans.

“We have to temper that,” said O?Neill of his supporters. “But it’s great to see so many of them here, they were fantastic.

“Obviously, we’ve got Chelsea in a fortnight’s time after our FA Cup game and I assume that pre-match there will be a lot of significance attached to it.

“But I just want to keep the momentum going. It’s great to have won but, genuinely, I am not setting targets. I’m absolutely delighted, we are going great and deserve to be where we are.

“Those people who are forced to listen to me every week will be getting bored to death but all I am interested in is keeping the momentum going.”

Villa’s impressive victory – the first defeat of Sam Allardyce’s 10-match reign as Blackburn manager – came courtesy of goals from James Milner and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

And Milner’s all-round contribution has his club manager predicting England honours – above and beyond his regular appearances for the under-21 team – in time for the 2010 World Cup.

“He was outstanding,” said O?Neill of Milner. “He missed from a yard and a half but, apart from that, I can’t think of anything he has done that didn’t warrant praise and applause.

“I think he’s played more times for the under-21s than he has for us but all he has to do is be on the plane for South Africa.

“That’s the main thing and a goal in itself because England will be there and it would be a great reward for him to be there with them.”

The other outstanding performer for Villa was midfielder Gareth Barry and how Liverpool must wish that they had managed to push through their much-publicised interest in the England midfielder.

Adding Barry to the current Anfield squad would surely have boosted Liverpool’s championship potential but Rafa Benitez’s loss has most certainly been Villa’s gain and the midfielder has been a major contributor to what has been an outstanding season for his club to date.

“He has been that influential for us all season, absolutely,” said O’Neill. “I thought that Gareth had gone the first week in August. I thought he would definitely go then so I would have given long odds of him still participating for us at this stage of the season.

“I’m delighted that he is because he has been brilliant.”

Blackburn supporters were angered by the display of referee Steve Bennett who refused a number of penalty appeals for their team but Rovers manager Sam Allardyce was far more forthright in his appraisal and acknowledged the opposition’s superiority.

“That wasn?t really the problem,” said Allardyce of the unsuccessful penalty claims. “The problem was they were too good for us.

“This was the first time since I’ve been here that the opposition have been better than us. We had to play to our best to get something and we didn’t manage that so the defeat is disappointing but we didn’t really deserve anything.

“You’ve got to give credit how good they are out of possession. Of course, they are good when they have the ball and are going forward but they’re good when they don’t have the ball as well.”