Clean Sheets Are Setting Us Up Nicely

Martin O'Neill has been delighted with our 3 clean sheets on the trot, and he believes that Villa are becoming more ruthless at the back.

Speaking on the official site O'Neill explained how he was pleased we were defending better, and that it was setting us up nicely for our Top 4 challenge.

'It is very encouraging.

'Look at the top sides. Liverpool have conceded very few this season and so have Chelsea.

'Manchester United conceded very few when they won the title last season.

'For all the quality and flair of Sir Alex Ferguson's men, who can conjure a moment's brilliance from nowhere, they know how important it is to stay tight and keep clean sheets.

'That is something we have to work on.

'If you told me we would win the next seven games 5-4, I'd take it obviously. Don't get me wrong it would be great and very exciting for the fans.

'But we have to be less generous and there are signs that this is happening.'

Last season we certainly scored plenty but conceeded more than we would've liked. This season both in terms of scoring and conceeding the tallies are lower, games are tighter so keeping a clean sheet is even more important.

The team have obviously spent a lot of time on the training pitch working on our defensive play and it is paying dividends.

That said, a few 5-4 wins would certainly be nice for Christmas.

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