Martin O'Neill to host dinner at Aston Villa for upset Moscow trip fans

Feb 28 2009 by Nick McCarthy, Birmingham Mail

Andrew Dear described the Villa manager as charismatic and honest when he was making the offer.

The 50-year-old dad of two, from Solihull, who works in insurance, added: “He was very charismatic. He said the club wanted to make it up to us with the offer of the meal and he said that he understood the disappointment.

“We are loyal fans and we respect the decisions of the manager, but I think they were there for the taking.

“It was a missed opportunity and I think we would have beaten them if we had taken the eight players that we left behind.

“This now piles on a huge amount of pressure for the next few Premier League games.”

Eugene Dowd admitted that he may not have chosen to go on the trip if he had known about the controversial squad choices.

The 50-year-old managing director, from Sutton Coldfield, who has three children, said: “It was obviously organised in advance and we had to commit early, but it is questionable if I would have opted for the trip if I had known about the weaker squad.

“He came to the back of the plane and told us that it was a decision that had to be made. He said it was a question of priorities and that the team had become a victim of its own success.

“He did say that when the club started in the competition they took it seriously.”