O’Neill – What Is The Point?

Martin O’Neill is thinking big and says the long term aim is to emulate the team of 1982 and see Villa once again lift the European Cup.

O’Neill talking to the Fifa’s official site he explained: ‘In terms of this season I should say that we’re still a million miles from achieving that. Ultimately, though, that is something we definitely want back here, particularly given the club’s European history. It’s all very well talking about restoring past glories, of course, but although the format has changed since Villa won the European Cup in 1982, the aim would certainly be to first of all qualify, and then to go in and be competitive.’

‘Otherwise, what’s the point?’

‘In time, I definitely want to be challenging the really big teams and giving this football club a chance to compete properly for the top trophies. But my immediate goal is to win some football matches because only by doing that will I give myself the time to achieve all that I want here.’

He also says it is a catch-22 because you need the short term goal of winning games to take the pressure off being sacked, mentioning Iain Dowie who was sacked from Charlton, but also the long term aims of bring major success to a club.