Aston Villa must end slump

Aston Villa have started to slip back down the Premier League table once again and could possibly end up starting at a relegation dogfight over the remainder of the season.

Back in January they sat in the bottom three and were only one point above the bottom at their lowest ebb, but Gerard Houllier managed to instigate a turnaround in their fortunes and they started to climb the table.

Results such as the win over big-spending Manchester City and 3-3 draw with Chelsea had showed how capable Villa were, but they have gone off the boil in recent weeks and a record of only one win from five games leaves them having to look precariously over their shoulder.

Villa sit 13th in the Premier League table but, worryingly for fans, are only two points above West Ham in 18th spot and are 16/1 to be relegated. What makes it worse for Houllier and his side is that while the likes of West Ham, Wolves and West Brom are starting to show some form going into the crunch end of the season, Villa are looking a pale comparison and are plummeting towards the botom three.

Houllier also upset a large section of the Villa fans with his controversial team selection for the recent FA Cup game with Manchester City. After declaring he thought his side could win the competition, he then fielded a weak starting XI with eight changes made to the side that convincingly steamrollered Blackburn 4-1 in their previous game.

The French manager then put all of his big-hitters back in the starting side to face Bolton, but they went down 2-1 at the Reebok Stadium and confidence could start to slump around the squad.

Villa have a weekend off as they are not in FA Cup action so do not play again until they face West Midlands rivals Wolves on Saturday March 19th. With Wolves only four points behind them in second-bottom then this becomes a crunch game and one that Villa fans will demand three points from.

Defender Ciaran Clark, who has been in and out of the team all season, has told the Birmingham Mail that he fears Villa could slide into a relegation dogfight - and they could become the latest casualty in the 'too good to go down' club.

"It has been tight all season at the bottom with everyone beating everyone and if we don’t get some wins we’ll be stuck down the bottom,” the 21-year-old said.

“Two wins and you can jump up the table which is what we need to do in our remaining games.

“We need to try to get as many points as possible out of our last nine games. We have got a big game against Wolves coming up and we’ll concentrate on that.

“We have got to get on with it now. It is a big game for us and we have to win it.”

There are a number of other games on March 19th that could mean Villa drop even closer to the dreaded drop zone come the end of the weekend.

With 17th-placed Birmingham taking on rock-bottom Wigan and Blackburn and Blackpool going head-to-head then a loss for Villa to Wolves could leave them down in 15th or 16th - and the pressure would then really grow on Houllier.