On december 2010 · Sunday Mercury
CARLOS Cuellar reckons Villa can still qualify for the Champions League this season – despite sitting just four points above the relegation zone at Christmas.
Most bookmakers are offering whopping odds of 40/1 for Gerard Houllier’s men to finish in the top four yet the Spanish defender is still confident it can happen.
Villa finished sixth in back-to-back seasons under Martin O’Neill but this year was always going to be tougher with big-spending Manchester City inevitably joining the Premier League’s elite.
Today they take on Tottenham knowing a win is essential if they are to achieve a dream top-four finish.
There are no shocks in the current top five, although the most alarming surprise is Liverpool’s ninth-place league position – nine points shy of the Champions League slots.
A catalogue of injuries and a dismal away record have thwarted Villa’s progress so far this season but Cuellar insists they can still succeed.
“It is really tight altogether, and if you win two or three games and you don’t lose matches then you can get to the top four, it is really tight now,” the 29-year-old said.
“We have a team with really good players who are starting to win again.
“The team has only one player who has left from the squad which finished sixth last season, and we have two or three really good young players coming up.
“I think they have helped us a lot and we will all improve".
Full article by Gregg Evans, Sunday Mercury. Dec 26 2010
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