Europe the goal for O'Neill

Villa boss knows lure of continental competition

By Rob Parrish   Last updated: 12th March 2008

martin oneill aston villa

O'Neill: European aim

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Martin O'Neill believes qualifying for Europe would attract more players to Aston Villa and help him retain his current stars.

Villa tackle Middlesbrough at Villa Park tonight looking to close the gap on Liverpool and Everton to five points.

With a fifth-placed finish likely to be required for a Uefa Cup berth after Tottenham's Carling Cup triumph and the exit of all Premier League clubs except Portsmouth from the FA Cup, O'Neill knows his side face an uphill task.

And he accepts that they must take all three points against Gareth Southgate's men this evening if they are to maintain the pressure on the Merseyside duo.

Enticing

He told The Sun: "It's our game in hand and we've not got to try and win it, we have got to win it.

"Playing in Europe is a definite lift when you are bringing players in. The club is progressing along the right lines - but the possibility of European football is very enticing.

"It's all to play for now. Everton and Liverpool have opened up a considerable gap which means less room for error.

"These boys enjoy playing week-in, week-out and I'm not fearful of losing them. But playing European football is a massive part of their development now."

O'Neill has a back-up plan with Villa applying for entry to the Intertoto Cup, with his decision swayed by England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

No commitments

He said: "Had England been involved in Euro 2008, I might have decided again not to put our name forward for the Intertoto given the contingent of players who might have been with England and if John Carew had been involved in the finals with Norway.

"But, considering most of our players are going to have no summer commitments apart from maybe an England friendly in early June, it meant I was always going to be interested in the Intertoto.

"We do not have to cut short our pre-season break because of the Intertoto. We will have to play two games in the second half of July.

"That is not like starting off halfway through June which has happened with some clubs in the past.

"We are coming back for pre-season training in early July which we would have been doing irrespective of whether we were in the Intertoto or not."