Reo-Coker eyes top four spot

Midfielder calls for O'Neill to be given time

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 5th June 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Reo-Coker eyes top four spot

Reo-Coker: No quick fix

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker believes the stranglehold of the top four can be broken in time.

Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan expressed his concern towards the end of last season over the dominance of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League.

Keegan spoke of a huge gulf between the top clubs and the rest of the division, and claimed that Newcastle had no chance of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League this term.

Reo-Coker understands Keegan's point but feels there is still hope for the likes of Aston Villa.

The 24-year-old reckons that if Martin O'Neill is allowed to continue his patient rebuilding of the club then Villa could challenge the elite group.

"To a certain degree I can see where he's (Keegan) coming from and I can understand his comments," Reo-Coker told the Birmingham Mail.

"You might agree with him to an extent.

No quick fix

"It's difficult. With football and people's personalities in general, people expect a quick fix.

"The reality of it is it's never going to happen like that."

Sir Alex Ferguson did not deliver any silverware to Manchester United immediately but he was given time to prove himself, and Reo-Coker insists that Villa must show similar faith in O'Neill.

He explained: "Think how long Sir Alex Ferguson was at Manchester United before he won a title.

"Things take time and that's the hard part to relate to fans because it's a slow building process and things happen gradually, not as quick as fans would like it to.

"But it's not something a lot of people want to accept because they want an instant fix which just isn't possible.

"It's just about having the patience to let the manager do his job. They should give him a couple of years and go from there."