Sun 24th May - Villa Park
Last updated: 4th July 2008
O'Neill: Transfer targets
Even if Gareth had decided to stay, we were still going to address it.
Martin O'Neill on the size of his Aston Villa squad
Quotes of the week
Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is eager to begin bringing in new recruits as he prepares for the departure of Gareth Barry.
O'Neill is resigned to losing £18million-valued Barry, who is the top transfer target of Liverpool, and is looking to increase the size of his squad.
Villa had the smallest squad in the Premier League last season as they finished sixth and they have already lost Olof Mellberg, Thomas Sorensen and Patrik Berger, while on loan Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson has returned to Anfield.
And O'Neill, who has been linked with a £15m move for Blackburn midfielder David Bentley, admits that in order to maintain a top-six place Villa will be forced to spend.
"We're hoping to try to add to the squad," said O'Neill. "The players did fantastically last season but we had the smallest squad in the Premier League.
"We wouldn't want that to happen this season so we're going to address it. Even if Gareth had decided to stay, we were still going to address it.
"But now it's even more important to do it than ever. It's the time for anticipation now. Players are back for pre-season training and, with the European Championships out of the way, it's obviously all systems go for everyone."
O'Neill is also aware his squad have to click back into gear quicker than normal as they will be on Intertoto Cup duty in just over two weeks.
He said: "My normal build-up would be a wee bit more leisurely, getting players into it and building into it. But here we have to try and get into competitive mode very early on.
"Now we've got to get ourselves together, get our preparation ready for the Intertoto."

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| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 18th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 15:00 | Peterborough vs Aston Villa |
| Tuesday 21st July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 19:45 | Colchester vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 25th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 21:30 | Aston Villa vs Malaga |
| Wednesday 29th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 19:30 | Aston Villa vs Atlante |
| Tuesday 4th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 19:45 | Oxford Utd vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 8th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Fiorentina |
| Saturday 15th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Wigan |
| Saturday 22nd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Liverpool vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 29th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Fulham |
| Saturday 12th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 19th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Portsmouth |
| Saturday 26th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 3rd October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Man City |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 24th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 16th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 9th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Fulham 3 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 4th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 0 Hull | |
| Saturday 25th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Bolton 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 18th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 1 West Ham | |
| Sunday 12th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 3 - 3 Everton | |
| Sunday 5th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 3 - 2 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 22nd March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 5 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 15th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 2 Tottenham | |
| Wednesday 4th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 2 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 1st March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 2 Stoke | |
| Thursday 26th February | |
| Europa League | |
| CSKA Moscow 2 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 21st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 1 Chelsea | |
| Wednesday 18th February | |
| Europa League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 1 CSKA Moscow | |
| Sunday 15th February | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Everton 3 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 7th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Blackburn 0 - 2 Aston Villa | |
| Wednesday 4th February | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Aston Villa 3 - 1 Doncaster | |
| Saturday 31st January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 0 Wigan | |
| Tuesday 27th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Portsmouth 0 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Birmingham City | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 | 0 |
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