Villa 'lacked belief' against Reds, says O'Neill

Jan 22 2008 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

MARTIN O'Neill once again found himself pointing an accusing finger at his side for showing a lack of belief at Anfield after they allowed Liverpool to dictate the first 65 minutes of last night's 2-2 draw.

But he revealed a heart-to-heart at half-time and the introduction of Marlon Harewood with 25 minutes to go turned the game on its head.

Harewood levelled and then Olof Mellberg's deflected shot - which will almost certainly be chalked down as an own-goal - handed Villa the lead before Peter Crouch's last-gasp equaliser.

"At half-time I thought we could get something from the game but we needed to have more belief," O'Neill said.

"Now I know some lads in the media listen to me talk about self belief ad nauseam, but it took us a bit of time last night.

"We started to turn the tide when Marlon came on. He made a big impression because we got the equaliser and got in front.

"So, overall, I was delighted we got something from the game but I was disappointed we didn't see it through."

O'Neill picked out Nigel ReoCoker for special credit. "I was pleased with the captain of the side and I was particularly pleased with the whole team - they've put a big effort in this season," he said.