O'NEILL INSISTS VILLA HAVE THE MENTAL STRENGTH

"DOES that make sense?" asked Martin O'Neill after an explanation that consumed most of Christmas.

Actually, it did.

O'Neill was outlining his thoughts on the buzz topic of squad rotation, which has particular relevance to him in light of last season's implosion at Villa Park.

But when it comes to talking Champions League, to breaking the Big Four cartel, not everything O'Neill says makes sense.

The Villa manager has become almost obsessive about shielding his players from rising expectations.

But as O'Neill faces up to games against Arsenal and Liverpool in the space of three days, it is unlikely Villa will have a better chance of Champions League qualification than now.

Yet even though O'Neill's team have won at Anfield and Old Trafford and have beaten Chelsea at Villa Park, he believes the dominant quartet has not been weakened this season.

He said: "I don't think the standard is lower. Some people were saying, when Chelsea started so well, that it's possible for Chelsea to go through the season unbeaten. And I found it incredible. It was crazy thinking.

"But they are such a strong side. United lost Cristiano Ronaldo and he is a fantastic player but what I think has happened there is that Wayne Rooney has taken on a greater responsibility and come through absolutely brilliant.

"Very obviously, you are going to miss a player like Ronaldo. No side could not miss him. If he left Real Madrid tomorrow, they would miss him and he has hardly started.

"I accept that. But it does not mean United are not able to overcome that. United are strong enough to be able to withstand that and come good. Is that an indication of us not being good enough to catch them? I don't know."

O'Neill also stresses that today's opponents Arsenal, while lacking the physical presence of the Henry-Vieira era, are still live title contenders.

But for all his caginess, surely O'Neill must realise there is a vulnerability about the elite that has not been seen for a long time. If he doesn't, he might want to check the league table. Before kick-off in yesterday's fixtures, the Big Four had lost NINETEEN games between them. In last season's entire programme they lost just SEVENTEEN matches. That statistic belies O'Neill's next claim ... that the secret of the Big Four's success is their ability to eke out results in scrappy games.

"We have shown we can compete and win against these teams but you have to do that more regularly. That applies to us, Spurs, Everton and Man City.

"Maybe it is because those top sides are capable of winning on a bad day. They can pull the result around and win games. I am not so sure we have been capable.

"Maybe, until recently, we would really have to be excellent to win."

And that's the first dropping of the guard. An admission that he believes this Villa vintage have the grit to grind out victories on difficult days.

Expectation

Victories such as last weekend's single-goal triumph against Stoke.

O'Neill explained: "We had a great win at Old Trafford, expectation rises. If we lose at Sunderland, people would say we could not sustain it. We went again against Stoke and won the game. Last year we might not have been strong enough to do that. We have gained a wee bit of mental strength. Whether we can sustain that is in the lap of the gods."

It's also at the feet of a talented young squad with an English heartbeat.

It's in the gift of a midfield in which Stewart Downing, James Milner and Ashley Young switch positions to bewildering effect. It's also dependent, of course, on fitness and fatigue.

Last season, Villa were threatening a top-four finish - a situation that prompted O'Neill to send a shadow side to Moscow for the second leg of a last 32 UEFA Cup game.

They lost and then went eight Premier League games without a victory.

O'Neill reflected: "Last year we went to Moscow and changed the side. Maybe I thought people would be a little more understanding. You can't win. The only way you can win, is to win the games.

"Top sides rotate and generally they get it right. What I have at Villa is a squad of players who genuinely want to play every week. I am sure Manchester United players want to play every week. But there is an acceptance now, even among the top quality players.

"I remember going to watch Manchester United v Wigan and the quality of the players sitting two rows in front of me watching the game was frightening.

"They have earned the right to do that over a period of time by being successful.

"We have not reached that yet but I accept the point that we are gathering a bit of momentum and the rotation policy will have to come into play at some stage."

There you go. Gathering a bit of momentum. In the world of Martin O'Neill, that's almost as bullish as it gets.

• VILLA EYEING GERMAN DEFENDER

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