Don't rule Aston Villa out of the top four race - Zat Knight

Mar 7 2008 By Bill Howell

ZAT Knight has refused to give up on a top-four finish as he called for one final push from his Aston Villa team-mates in their quest for European football.

And the back-in-frame defender already has one eye on their trip to Manchester United at the end of the month.

Villa could fall eight points behind both Everton and Liverpool by the end of the weekend, but Knight says back-to-back home wins over Middlesbrough and Sunderland, which sandwich their trip to Portsmouth, would see Martin O'Neill's side back on track.

Knight said: "We haven't got a game for five days and hopefully we can rest up over the weekend for the final push.

"Then we need to get the points against Middlesbrough and Sunderland. If we can get the six points then we can go to Old Trafford with confidence high.

"That's our hardest remaining game. If we can go there and get something, we'll still be in the hunt." Villa are unbeaten away from home against the other three top-four clubs ahead of the March 30 clash.

Knight says confidence is soaring after the draw at Arsenal.

"I was proud to play in such a good performance," he said. "It was a passionate game and you could see how much it meant to every single Villa player.

"To do so well and be so unlucky not to get all three points at Arsenal makes our confidence sky-high.

"It shows us we can do it against the very best. We did it for 92 minutes and 55 seconds!

"If we can apply the same attitude over the last 10 games, I can't see why we can't claim that fourth spot."