Olof Mellberg: Consistency will break United stranglehold

Jan 4 2008 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

OLOF Mellberg chalks up his 250th Villa appearance tomorrow calling for 90 minutes of consistency if they are to finally shatter their Manchester United jinx.

The Swede, who has made 249 starts since signing from Racing Santander in July 2001, missed the third-round tie at Old Trafford through suspension last year. Now he is eager to make up for the two previous defeats in 2002 and 2004.

"We've really struggled against Manchester United in the past, especially in the FA Cup," he said.

"This is the third time I've played them in the third round and we've been beaten every time. Hopefully we can do better this year.

"We seem to get these tough draws, but we're in good form now and hopefully we can get something out of it."

Mellberg says Villa could take some heart from their 4-1 defeat at Villa Park in October.

He added: "We gave them a fright and went ahead in a really good 20-30-minute spell, but then had a really bad 10-15 minutes.

"You must be consistent against these teams Ð you need to play well over 90 minutes and hopefully we can do that tomorrow.

"We know we can do it because we have done it against top teams such as Chelsea and Arsenal this season.

"But United are so good. If you drop too deep, they will punish you so you can't afford any lapses.

"Maybe within the game you have to raise your lowest level a bit and then try to punish them when you have your good spells."

f=XZapfDingbats noÊThree members of VillaÕs FA Cup-winning squad from 50 years ago are to be guests of honour tomorrow.

Nigel Sims, Peter McParland and Jackie Sewell helped Villa beat United 2-1 at Wembley in 1957.

TV footage of that game will form part of the pre-match build-up inside the stadium before the three legends are presented to the crowd approximately 10 minutes before kick-off.