Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has endured some pretty harsh criticism from fans of the club who travelled to Russia to see the team's UEFA Cup exit at the hands of CSKA Moscow, with supporters refusing to see 'the bigger picture' as he urged them.
"Villa have treated every fan who has travelled out here with contempt," was how The Birmingham Mail reported one Villa fan, Tom Cole, aged 53, a city council printer from Great Barr, Birmingham, as saying.
"This has cost me £1,000 and it feels like that money and all the other cash I’ve spent since last July has been wasted. The UEFA Cup was supposed to be our Holy Grail and we had no inkling that, when we paid for these tickets, we would be watching a weakened side.
"There were 500 Villa fans in the stadium and not a single one seemed to agree with what O’Neill did."
O'Neill says he can understand the feelings of people such as Mr Cole, but is sticking to his assertion that qulaifying for next season's Champions League is of far more importance to the club's long-term future.
"We had a group of people who spent a lot of money to come and support us, and of course they’ll be disappointed," the Irishman told Setanta Sports News earlier.
"We will try, at some stage or other, to make it up to those people who made that journey across. Three games in six days does take its toll and it’s important to look at the bigger picture. The owner has entrusted me to make these decisions and for better or worse I have done so.
"I hope European football will be a more regular feature at Villa Park and we are able to cope with big demands in the fashion that the top four sides have to in February, March and April time."
"Villa have treated every fan who has travelled out here with contempt," was how The Birmingham Mail reported one Villa fan, Tom Cole, aged 53, a city council printer from Great Barr, Birmingham, as saying.
"This has cost me £1,000 and it feels like that money and all the other cash I’ve spent since last July has been wasted. The UEFA Cup was supposed to be our Holy Grail and we had no inkling that, when we paid for these tickets, we would be watching a weakened side.
"There were 500 Villa fans in the stadium and not a single one seemed to agree with what O’Neill did."
O'Neill says he can understand the feelings of people such as Mr Cole, but is sticking to his assertion that qulaifying for next season's Champions League is of far more importance to the club's long-term future.
"We had a group of people who spent a lot of money to come and support us, and of course they’ll be disappointed," the Irishman told Setanta Sports News earlier.
"We will try, at some stage or other, to make it up to those people who made that journey across. Three games in six days does take its toll and it’s important to look at the bigger picture. The owner has entrusted me to make these decisions and for better or worse I have done so.
"I hope European football will be a more regular feature at Villa Park and we are able to cope with big demands in the fashion that the top four sides have to in February, March and April time."
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