O'Leary praises tired stars
David O'Leary praised the resilience of his Aston Villa players as they continued a dramatic upturn in their Premiership fortunes thanks to a late Darius Vassell goal in the 2-1 win over Portsmouth.
Villa moved from a bottom-three to a top-six side in only 23 days after collecting 13 points from their last five games.
Vassell knew little about his winner, which rebounded off his chest and past goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek.
O'Leary said: "We became very tired in the second half. Sunday's FA Cup defeat by Manchester United really took a lot out of them. It took a very flukey goal to win it, but I thought the best team won the game."
The fact that Portsmouth scored their first away goal in 743 minutes of Premiership football was scant consolation for manager Harry Redknapp.
He said: "Everything was a bit down in the dressing room afterwards but, if we keep going like that, then we won't be relegated. We'll be okay."
