O'Neill wants to keep squad

Martin O'Neill has said that he would like to keep hold of his squad's fringe players. Thomas Sorensen, Marlon Harewood and several others have been linked with a move away, but the Aston Villa coach has stated that keeping fringe players will help his European push.

O'Neill said: "We will be trying to bring people in. I can't tell you if we will be as successful as last January, but we will be trying - but so is everyone else.

"We are going to try and strengthen, and it won't be through lack of effort if we don't succeed.

"We want to do something to give us all a bit of a boost. But equally I would prefer not to lose any players already here if that is at all possible as well.

"At this minute we have been able to cope a bit better with a small squad, simply because we haven't been involved in European football."