Richard Dunne: Aston Villa can compete for a top-four finish

Oct 6 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

“It was difficult but I don’t think it was a case of holding out. We had opportunities as well.

“After the goal the last 25 minutes was quite even so I think both sides would have been happy with a draw.

“Manchester City are a real good team and they’re going to push the top four this season.

“We feel we’ve got as much chance as teams like Man City, Everton, Tottenham. We feel we’re as good as them.”

Villa boss Martin O’Neill felt the Dunne-Barry story was just a sideshow to the main event of a cracking encounter between two ambitious Premier League teams.

And O’Neill put Villa’s furious tempo and the intense atmosphere inside the stadium down to the occasion rather than the attention surrounding the former captains.

“I don’t think we were galvanised by the Gareth Barry thing,” said O’Neill.

“My own view was that generally we had a game to play. Gareth is on the opposition now.

“It would have been very strange for him to be walking up the corridor and instead of turning an immediate right having to go a wee bit further.

“It was strange for Richard Dunne as well who for all those years has played against Aston Villa as a Manchester City player.

“I’m sure it will have been very strange for them, having experienced that myself as a player.

“But that, as far as I was concerned, had got very little to do with the game.

“We had to be fired up. We were playing Manchester City and it’s a really tough game.

“It was a totally different game from the one we played against Blackburn Rovers nine or ten days ago.

“I thought the pace was unrelenting. It was almost without break. Having said that I didn’t really want half-time to come because we were so strong.

“We probably needed a second goal. It didn’t materialise so I’m disappointed with the result but not the performance. The team were fantastic.”