Break was good . . . and bad, says Martin O'Neill

Mar 10 2008 By Bill Howell

VILLA boss Martin O'Neill concedes there are pluses and minuses to having enjoyed a free weekend to prepare his side for Wednesday's visit of Middlesbrough.

O'Neill admits his side should be fresher than Gareth Southgate's outfit, who were involved in FA Cup action yesterday.

But he says that there is a psychological drawback in allowing Liverpool and Everton the chance to open up a sizeable gap in the quest for Europe.

"We'll have had a 10-day break since the Arsenal game, so we should be going into the game pretty fresh," O'Neill said.

"The negative about the break is that teams were given a chance to get ahead of us.

"Psychologically it can be better if you're not playing catch-up all the time.

"But at the same time I don't think we can worry too much about what's happening elsewhere. So I'm not overly concerned about it.

"The one issue is that after a break we've now got two games in three days. But I suppose we should be fresher than Middlesbrough, who were in FA Cup action.

"The fact is that the break couldn't be avoided and therefore we've just got to deal with it."

O'Neill is already faced with one change for the Middlesbrough game with Zat Knight replacing the injured Curtis Davies.

Although it remains unlikely he will change his side from the one who performed so admirably at Arsenal he has not completely ruled out the possibility of doing so.

One thing he is toying with is handing Marlon Harewood his first league start and switching Gabby Agbonlahor to the right wing with Ashley Young operating down the left.