O'Leary vows to silence detractors

English League Cup: Aston Villa boss David O'Leary has vowed "to shut the people up" who think he is only a cheque-book manager.

O'Leary had vast funds at his disposal at Leeds, whom he moulded into a side capable of reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League before the money ran out.

Now he is at the opposite end of the spectrum with Villa, having had only £4million to spend last summer and only a limited amount likely to be available in the January transfer window.

O'Leary knows there are doubts being expressed over whether he can succeed without being able to splash out.

But it was that challenge which drew him back into football with Villa last May as Graham Taylor's successor.

And, while Villa are again struggling in the Premiership, O'Leary has brought spirit back to the squad, as demonstrated in Wednesday night's League Cup triumph over Chelsea.

O'Leary said: "I thought I spent well at Leeds but I came here to Villa with not wanting to spend too much money, to show people what you can do at the other end of the scale as well.

"That was the intrigue of the place for me - could you turn Villa around with very little in the way of resources?

"It was going to be a test with all stories about the dressing room before I came and the first thing I did was to get everybody back united.

"I was also told I had £4million to spend for the season and that was it. But I just got on with it. No one lied to me. I knew the score.

"Maybe I've got to win a few people over doing it this way - and it will be nice to shut those people up.

"I know I can manage the other way (with funds available) and I thought I did a good job doing it that way. It will be nice to do it this way as well and shut these people up."

O'Leary's only two signings, Gavin McCann and Thomas Sorensen from Sunderland, played crucial parts in the win over Chelsea which sets up a two-legged semi-final with Bolton.

McCann capped an all-action display with the winning goal while Sorensen pulled off a stunning injury-time reflex save to deny John Terry an equaliser.

O'Leary said: "Maybe what helped me in the summer was that the market was down a little bit. I would have loved to have bought four players for £1million each.

"I thought we needed a keeper and was able to get a solid one in Thomas and I thought Gavin would be a good solid bread-and-butter player.

"I'd have liked a couple more. I did have my eye on Emerton who's now at Blackburn. I thought he would have been a great addition here. But I knew what I had to spend and you just get on with things."

Chelsea are experiencing their first blip of the campaign with the Villa reversal following on from the shock 2-1 home Premiership defeat by Bolton.

Claudio Ranieri defended the decision to leave the on-song Frank Lampard out of his starting line-up, although he sparked a revival with his second-half introduction. The Chelsea manager said: "Frank is a player who wants to play in every game.

"He made a difference when he came on but I must give him a rest sometime. Maybe John Terry will also have a rest sooner or later.

"All teams have a bad period and now it is important that we at Chelsea stay together, react in a good way to the Villa defeat. I don't like to lose whether it is the Champions League, Premiership, FA Cup or Carling Cup."