Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill not giving up on race for fourth

ASTON Villa manager Martin O'Neill has challenged his players to hit Everton with a backlash in their Barclays Premier League encounter at Villa Park tonight.

By The Newsroom

Published 14th Apr 2010, 00:14 BST

Updated 14th Apr 2010, 02:14 BST

O'Neill does not expect there to be any hangover after Villa's second defeat of the season at Wembley in last Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Villa, also beaten at Wembley in the Carling Cup final by Manchester United, have slipped eight points behind Manchester City in the race for fourth place. But the clash with Everton is their game in hand on City and O'Neill said: "We have an opportunity to win a game and put ourselves back into contention."