O'Neill: Thrilled

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Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill was thrilled with his team's response against Wigan on the back of their Uefa Cup clash with Ajax.

Villa overcame Ajax at Villa Park on Thursday and O'Neill was worried his team could lack energy with a trip up north against Wigan less than three days later.

However, Villa responded in style with an emphatic 4-0 success against the Latics with Gabriel Agbonlahor the stand-out performer with a goal and two assists.

"Today was a big concern. I was worried about our energy levels and the opposition," O'Neil told Sky Sports.

"The game came quickly upon us, but we played brilliantly. We had lots of everything and ended up worthy winners, which I'm delighted with.

"Today was big. We hadn't scored in two league games, but today we've put that to right in terms of the performance. We've got another big game on Wednesday."

Hopeful

Villa's afternoon's work was marred by the ankle knock sustained by midfielder Gareth Barry, however, O'Neill is hopeful the blow is not too serious.

"He hurt his ankle. It's a nasty kick on it," he continued. "Had there been no half-time break he wouldn't have been able to continue on.

"The swelling was too much and we wanted to be cautious by the end of it. We took him off, but I'm hoping he'll be alright sooner rather than later."

Internal matter

John Carew found himself in hot water with O'Neill earlier in the week for a breach of club discipline for visiting a night club less than 24 hours before Villa's clash with Ajax.

However, the former Celtic boss says the matter has been dealt with internally and he hopes the big Norwegian striker has learned his lesson.

"There were mitigating circumstances, well John thought there was. I don't think it'll happen again.

"He stepped out of line and I think he's paid the penalty. Overall, the incident with a bit of luck is over with."