O'Neill praises 'confident' Villa

Aston Villa claimed their fourth league win in a row as they thrashed Blackburn Rovers 4-0 at Ewood Park.

Villa climbed to sixth in the Premier League with a comfortable win over a Rovers side reduced to ten men when defender Ryan Nelsen was sent off.

John Carew put Villa ahead and Gareth Barry added a penalty follwing Nelsen's red card.

Ashley Young and Marlon Harewood added two late goals to seal Villa's third away win in succession.

O'Neill said: "I'm delighted with a win of any sort. But I'm especially delighted to have got four on the spot, and three of those away from home.

"It's great for us, and confidence is very high at the moment. I thought for the first half-hour we were second-best. But our big goals are turning games, and I thought our second-half performance was excellent."

Rovers manager Mark Hughes was unhappy with the decision to send Nelsen off for the foul on Young that gave Villa their penalty.

Hughes said: "I think he's given it for a shirt pull, and it was probably the right decision. But I don't think it warranted a sending-off, in fairness.

"From that point on, we were trying to get back into the game at 2-0 down. But they got a couple of breakaways, both of which I had my doubts about - because I thought they might be offside.

"It was just one of those nights we've got to draw a line under and move on.

"We know Villa aren't four goals better than us - and so do they. This is not going to dent our confidence."

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