Martin O'Neill puts Aston Villa on Portsmouth strike alert

Oct 17 2008 By Bill Howel

MARTIN O’Neill has put his Villa defence on Little and Large alert.

The Villa boss believes his side will come up against as good as they get in Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch tomorrow.

The Pompey pair have eight league goals between them already this season, the same number as John Carew and Gabby Agbonlahor.

And O’Neill clearly believes the strike force are the biggest threat to his side’s hopes of bouncing back from their disappointing no-show at Chelsea.

“They’re as good a partnership as there is right now,’’ said O’Neill.

“Villa fans would know about Peter Crouch’s attributes. I am led to believe he was popular here.

“I think he said himself that all he was crying out for was to play more often than he did at Liverpool.

“He is forming a really good partnership with Defoe. They are a real handful.

“I don’t think that many of us would have been surprised that when Crouch and Defoe got together that they would yield goals.’’

O’Neill can see comparisons with his own strike partnership of Agbonlahor and Carew. “I think there are similarities. Like anything else there are a few contrasts too,” he said.

Pompey head into tomorrow’s game having been beaten 6-0 at Manchester City in their last away league game, a result which was followed by a four-goal trouncing in the League Cup against Chelsea.

But they have beaten Tottenham and Stoke in their last two league games with a UEFA Cup win over Guimaraes in between.

O’Neill added: “They seem to have showed up again, got a bit stronger, as happens during the course of the season.

“Sometimes people get a beating in a game and sometimes a hangover might last for a little while.

“But you always get the impression from Portsmouth that they have the capabilities to bounce back which I think they have done.

“It was a great win for them against Guimares, brilliant.”

Harry Redknapp announced his anger at the tough scheduling of the UEFA Cup after their victory in Portugal which saw them end extra-time after midnight.

O’Neill can see the funny side. He said: “Harry made some sort of comment about the tough schedule, but it didn’t look like that when Portsmouth had just scored to level things up at the end there.

“With his hands in the air it didn’t look as if he was concerned too much about the schedule.

“Listen, we will always complain about schedules but you want to be in the competitions.”