Aston Villa hard-pressed to beat last season's away record - O'Neill
Nov 18 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
Martin O'Neill
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In stark contrast to last season, Villa’s impressive home form has overshadowed their average away form so far this term.
While they have picked up 13 points from a possible 18 at Villa Park they have only taken eight from the 18 available away.
In their previous three league trips on the trot to Wolves, Everton and West Ham, Villa grabbed two points from two draws and a defeat.
But, alongside their improved home form, O’Neill is still relatively satisfied with his Champions League chasers’ tally on the road.
And he argues that his team would be unbeaten since the opening day of the season were it not for two last-gasp goals on their travels.
“We have still managed a couple of victories away from home,” said O’Neill, referring to wins at Liverpool and Birmingham.
“We have had to play a few consecutive games away from home.
“That’s why the 94th-minute defeat at West Ham was particularly galling.
“If we had not conceded that goal it would have kept our unbeaten run going since Blackburn, which would have been particularly pleasing having played quite a number of games away from home.
“The extra point against West Ham would have been great but, at the same time, our home form has been great since the opening day.
“We have conceded a very harsh penalty against Blackburn. We could easily be unbeaten since then. We are doing fine.
“We bounced back from West Ham against Bolton, which was vitally important and we’ll see how we come back from the international break.”
Burnley have started their first campaign in the Premier League in impressive form at home with five wins from six games at Turf Moor.
The Clarets even sent out an emphatic early-season warning to their established rivals with a shock victory over Manchester United.
But because of the high standards of top-flight clubs, including the promoted newcomers, O’Neill refuses to be taken aback by any freak results.
“You see it every week,” added O’Neill.
“Results that are a wee bit surprising to a lot of people but do not surprise that many in the game. It can be very difficult.”
