Warnock: Christmas run-up will decide Aston Villa’s fate
Nov 17 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
Stephen Warnock
“We were in a good position in the league going into the international break and we’ve got an added incentive to do well and hopefully pick up good results and really kick on and go on a good run up until Christmas.
“Come Christmas you can see where you really are and you can fight for where you want to be in the league.
“In any position in the league, whether you’re down the bottom fighting, up at the top going for the actual league or whether you’re fighting for one of the European positions, you always know round about Christmas which position you’re going to be fighting for.
“It’s an important time and hopefully we can pick up the right results to know that we’ll be up there fighting for that top four position.”
Although Villa have beaten Liverpool and Chelsea, their three league defeats have come against Wigan, Blackburn and West Ham.
And after beating Bolton 5-1, Warnock acknowledges that they must pick up more points against the lesser lights, including Burnley.
“Beating the top teams does instil belief but then there’s the flip-side of it where we have lost to the likes of Blackburn and Wigan,” he added.
“Those are the games you really need to be winning to keep yourself right up at the top and in and around the top four.
“It’s something we’ve looked at already and we’re trying to work on to understand why we’ve lost those games and we’ll try to improve on that.”
Saturday’s opponents Burnley are fierce rivals of Warnock’s former club Blackburn and he is anticipating a rowdy reception at Turf Moor.
But the 27-year-old defender insists Villa will be travelling to Lancashire in confident mood after their convincing victory over Bolton.
“I’m sure I’ll get a bit of stick when I go there but hopefully it will all be lighthearted and not too heavy,” added Warnock.
“The rivalry is very strong. They had a very intense derby the other week. They like their football there.
“The Bolton game was the kind of performance we’ve been threatening and it was a great result.”
