O'Neill Believes Liverpool Remain Contenders

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill, whose in-form team take on Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow in what should be a fascinating battle with both teams tucked in behind the top three on 39 points, expects the Reds to push those three all the way for the Premier League crown.
He acknowledges that Liverpool must put together a winning streak to claw back lost ground on Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, but he sees no reason to suppose Rafa Benitez's side won't be in the frame in May.
"After strengthening their team at the start of the season, I thought Liverpool would be genuine contenders and I still wouldn't write them off," he said.
"They would probably have to win eight or nine consecutive games. They are capable of doing that."


Laursen Puts Torres In Perspective...
Meanwhile, Villa's Danish defender, Martin Laursen, rates Liverpool striker Fernando Torres as world-class - but insists he is not 'Superman.'
Laursen, who committed his future to the Villans by signing a new two-and-a-half-year contract on Friday, says he is not overly concerned about facing Liverpool's 17-goal striker, and will treat him the same way as other forwards he marks.
"Let's not make Torres into Superman," he said.
"He's just a player like everyone else. He's a good player but not better than very many of the other strikers in this country.
"Torres is a world-class striker but, like I said, he's not Superman."


...And Thanks O'Neill For His Trust

Laursen has also thanked O'Neill for the "great trust" shown in allowing him to plot his own comeback from a lengthy knee problem.

Laursen began the season with serious questions over his fitness and future after making only a handful of appearances in the previous three years since joining Villa from AC Milan.

But the 30-year-old has justified O'Neill's faith by being an ever-present this season in the Barclays Premier League and becoming the club's second top scorer with six goals.

Laursen said: "I love the way the manager just said to me 'Martin, I just want you to make sure you are fit and ready to play on Saturday.'

"He says 'what you do during the week I care about - but the important thing is that you are there for matches because that's where we need you, that is where you are important.'

"All players are different. One players needs to train a lot, another needs to train less, another needs to do different things. We are all different and the manager is very good at understanding that and we've had a perfect relationship.

"We work very well together. He has helped me by trusting me, trusting that I can take care of myself, trusting that I know what is best for me to be 100% ready for the games.

"I am 30 now and have played for many years and I know I can't just do nothing in the week and pretend that I am going to play well on Saturday.

"I need to work out during the week but I still need to take care of myself and the manager understands that and that has been very important for our relationship."

Laursen is delighted to have sorted out his future after being kept informed of interest from other clubs by O'Neill.

He said: "The manager told me of interested clubs but that is normal because I was playing well and was out of contract in the summer. I was listening to him - but I wanted to stay here.

"To sort out my future is a big weight off my shoulders. It has been a big thing in my head. It is something I have thought a lot about about because I wanted to stay and you never know in football if you can find an agreement."