Petrov ready to continue Villa's fight for UEFA Cup place

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Martin O'Neill's side need to win at West Ham on Sunday and hope fifth placed Everton lose at home to Newcastle.

That scenario would enable Villa to move above the Toffees on goal difference and gain automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup for the first time in nearly a decade.

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High hopes: Stiliyan Petrov of Aston Villa (right) hopes the Birmingham club can make the last European place

Petrov, who helped Celtic reach the 2004 final, is keen for another crack at European football.

The Bulgarian international said: "We want to play in Europe and we want to finish the job. Of course, we've made our job harder by losing at home to Wigan at the weekend. That was our chance to put real pressure on Everton.

"But it is still not impossible. We'll go to West Ham trying to win and hopefully the result will go our way in the other game at Everton. It was disappointing to lose after the run we've had, and now things are out of our own hands, but it is important to bounce back straight away.

"We'll be giving it our best shot at West Ham and, if you look at our results this season, we know we can win away from home. We will go there confident we can win.

"The season is not over yet. We will go to West Ham looking for three points and we'll see where we are when the season finishes. There are only three points between us and we won't give up. We'll keep fighting right to the end of the season."

Petrov added: "It would be great to play in Europe again. It was a memorable time when Celtic got to the UEFA Cup final a few years back. Playing in Europe is something special and to experience those sort of nights again would be special especially as Villa have not played in Europe for quite a while.

"It would mean so much to the supporters and the players."