Pulis hails 'great three points'

The match seemed to be heading for a draw until Mali international Sidibe, a second-half substitute, rose highest in injury time to head home a long throw-in from Rory Delap and give the Potters a dramatic late 3-2 victory.

"There is such a terrific spirit about the place and among the players and that spirit will really help us go so far," Pulis said.

"It was a good game - it ebbed and flowed - we had our good moments in the match and they had their good moments.

"Aston Villa are a very good side. With (John) Carew up front they had got great power and have players with great pace and ability around him and I'm sure Villa will finish in the top eight without a question of a doubt.

"But it was a fantastic atmosphere today - which helped the players - and we have got to make that a regular occurrence here."

O'Neill admitted a lapse in concentration cost his side a point after they twice fought back from a goal down. The Villa boss also hinted that defence rather than attack will be the areas which he will seek to improve on the training ground.

"I am still very positive because the fact is we have been beaten in the last minute of the game," O'Neill said. "Over the whole period I thought we should have got at least something from the game after we scored two very good goals.

"It is too early to start cutting up players as it were, we have played two games in the Premier League and we've scored six goals. So scoring doesn't seem to be our problem at the moment. We scored a lot of goals last season and conceded quite a number.

"If we could cut down the number we conceded we'd have a better chance of getting more points so that's something we'll work on."