ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa v Sunderland:MARTIN O'NEILL goes back to Aston Villa today for the first time since his resignation five days before the start of the 2010-11 season. If some Villa fans have never quite forgiven the man now in charge of Sunderland for leaving, many would happily take him back tomorrow.
“I had the privilege of managing one of the finest clubs in England with a great tradition and great history and I was there for four years,” said O’Neill, who finished sixth in the Premier League in his last three campaigns at Villa Park.
Such appearances proved deceptive. “Things were a little sour in the final season,” acknowledged the Sunderland manager. “The irony of that was it was our best season. We finished in the top six, were about six points off the Champions League places and reached the semi-final of the FA Cup and final of the League Cup. But that can’t be helped, sometimes these things happen.”
O’Neill took a claim of constructive dismissal against Villa to the FA Premier League managers’ arbitration tribunal, where the dispute was resolved in his favour.
“I’m not going into any explanations. I don’t think on the eve of the match, that is the right time to do it,” said O’Neill. “Maybe at some stage the clearing-up of an issue or two might be useful, but it’s not going to be today.”
Ellis Short, Sunderland’s owner, has challenged O’Neill to achieve further top-six finishes on Wearside, but the Northern Irishman is undaunted: “Of course it’s achievable, absolutely. This club is big enough to be able to have those sort of demands put on it. That should be the ambition.”
While he has breathed new life into Sunderland, who are ninth having had real relegation fears when O’Neill arrived in December, Villa have regressed under Alex McLeish this season. They are perched in 15th place, six points above the bottom three, and regard victory today as imperative.
“Aston Villa will rise again to be a great club,” said O’Neill. “It might not happen tomorrow, but it will happen.”
McLeish’s cause has been further hindered by the absence of both his principal striker, Darren Bent, and his captain and key midfielder, Stilian Petrov. While Bent’s ankle injury is slowly healing, the Bulgarian has acute leukaemia and is receiving intense treatment.
O’Neill’s “admiration” for McLeish will ensure cordial relations at Villa Park, even though there was a time when, as managers of Celtic and Rangers respectively, it was politic for the pair to keep their distance. “I never went out to dinner with him, put it that way,” said O’Neill.
Should, as predicted, home fans distribute “McLeish Out” flyers before kick-off, the Villa manager may need to rely on all his Glasgow-honed survival instincts, but the Scot is frustrated the dissenters do not appreciate mitigating factors, including a tight budget. “There are a lot of quality players who have left the club since Martin departed and maybe just before he left,” said McLeish.
“That’s why I said our squad at the start of the season lacked a bit of experience – and I prayed the experienced players would stay fit. It has not worked out that way.”
Guardian Service
