Eriksson's conquests point way for O'Neill

<>P>With his tongue staying firmly in his cheek, the Irishman said Manchester City's manager was 'no Brad Pitt', while acknowledging that his opponents at Villa Park this afternoon were worthy of their fourth-placed spot as the season reached almost the halfway point.

But while O'Neill managed to be flippant about Eriksson's offfield activities, he conceded it will be his own ability that defines whether Villa will enjoy a return to European football.

"I'm not surprised Sven is back in football," said O'Neill. "His club record is terrific. He knows European football well and he would have watched a lot of games with England. He might have had a problem getting all his players to gel, but they look comfortable.

"That's great credit to him. He's a very lucky man, too — particularly with the ladies. Some of us are much less lucky. Sven won't mind me saying this, but he's no Brad Pitt. Anything but, in fact."

O'Neill, however, is at a crossroads. He has several issues with his playing staff to resolve with Olof Mellberg and Martin Laursen out of contract at the end of the campaign.

The Villa boss went into the season without a recognised right back and Shaun Maloney has failed to settle after joining from Celtic. Gareth Barry is shunted to left back whenever Wilfred Bouma is unavailable, upsetting the balance of his midfield.

Meanwhile, keeper Thomas Sorensen has refused to consider his future being in Birmingham.

Villa's roster is also hardly the lengthiest in the Barclays Premier League as it is, and the rumour mill has started already with a view to January imports.

O'Neill neither confirms nor denies any transfer speculation, but sources have suggested that Peter Crouch's availability will be of interest, although perhaps not at Liverpool's quoted price of £12million.

And his problem position on the right-hand side of defence may be solved by the capture of Benfica's flying defender Nelson.

Jermain Defoe has long been a target but word has reached Villa Park that the Tottenham and England striker is determined to remain at White Hart Lane and run down his contract to its conclusion before taking his pick from a number of suitors.

O'Neill cannot afford to wait that long. He said: "We have got a good platform, but we want to do something in the market. We have been a bit lucky. If we'd had more injuries, we would have been in almighty trouble."