These are the five most read Aston Villa stories on the Birmingham Mail website from the last seven days....

1. Kyle Walker hits back at critics on Twitter 

VILLA loanee Kyle Walker has hit back at critics for starting to question his ability following his recent dip in form.

By his own admission Walker was poor in the draw at Everton and was also slightly below par in Sunday’s win over Newcastle.

But the 20-year-old defender believes his lull is only temporary and he will soon be back to his best in claret and blue.

Until recent weeks, Walker has been a revelation at right-back after signing from Tottenham until the end of the season.

However, the former Sheffield United is youngster is frustrated that critics have started writing off after the past two games.

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2. Aston Villa: James Collins on the drunken spa spat

JAMES Collins has warned West Ham that Villa have the strongest spirited dressing room he’s ever known ahead of Saturday’s survival six-pointer against his former club.

Collins scored the claret and blues’ crucial goal in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Newcastle at Villa Park and insists his episode of drunken indiscipline is now done and dusted.

And the ex-Hammers defender has told Villa’s relegation rivals that despite well-documented problems the togetherness in Gerard Houllier’s squad is stronger than ever.

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3. Aston Villa: Alan Pardew and Gerard Houllier clash over Ashley Young

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew accused Ashley Young of going to ground too easily after watching the Aston Villa winger win the free-kick which ultimately sank his side at Villa Park this afternoon.

Young went down under a challenge from Newcastle captain Joey Barton and the resulting set-piece saw the England man swing the ball in for James Collins to glance in the only goal of the game after 24 minutes as Villa clinched three vital points in their bid to avoid relegation.

Pardew said: "Young is the most fouled player in the division.

"We kept saying, you touch him and he goes over, and that was in Joey's mind."

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4. Aston Villa: Houllier likens Emile Heskey to Real Madrid's Karim Benzema

FORGOTTEN frontman Emile Heskey has been assured that he could still have an important part to play during Villa’s survival run-in.

Heskey has lost his place to Darren Bent and has not started a Premier League game since his sending off against Sunderland in early January.

But manager Gerard Houllier insists the claret and blues must be able to count on all of the squad during their final six games of the season.

Heskey was one of Villa’s most consistent performers with six goals during the first half of the season after starting to confound his critics.

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5. West Ham 1, Aston Villa 2: Full Time report and picture gallery

Gabriel Agbonlahor propelled Aston Villa towards Barclays Premier League safety and edged West Ham towards relegation with an injury-time winner at Upton Park.

The Hammers had taken the lead inside two minutes with a strike from Robbie Keane but Villa wrestled back control with Darren Bent's header shortly before the interval.

West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green pulled off a string of top-class saves to keep his side in the game but Villa snatched a deserved victory with a header from substitute Agbonlahor in added time.

Villa's victory moved them up to ninth in the table on 40 points, seven clear of the drop zone, while Avram Grant's struggling side slipped deeper into trouble.

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