Seven-up Villa continue Champions League chase
As his Aston Villa side continued their push towards Europe, the team he used to be in charge of were heading for the Nationwide League.
Leeds’s appalling goal difference means they are relegated in all but name only following their defeat at Bolton yesterday. While they are on a downward spiral, O’Leary is on the up again after swapping Yorkshire for the English Midlands.
Juan Pablo Angel’s 22nd goal of a fine season stretched Villa’s unbeaten run to seven games at a crucial time and took them above Newcastle.
The considerable consolation for Spurs after another poor display was the knowledge that their top-flight status was secured.
O’Leary admits Aston Villa are punching above their weight going in to the final two games of the season.
A Champions League slot is still a possibility after they outplayed Spurs in front of a bumper 42,000 crowd. O'Leary said: “We’re exceeding expectations. If I’d said this is where we would be with two games to go, people would have remarked that a year’s break had not done me much good.
“We’re trying to play good football, climb the league and see where it gets us. I’m still learning about people and trying to sort the club out big time.”
Angel made the breakthrough in the third minute and Thomas Hitzlsperger later rattled the crossbar from the edge of the area.
But Villa could not extend their advantage. However, they have now gone seven matches unbeaten and have suffered only five defeats in the last 23 matches.
O’Leary said: “We started very brightly. We had good tempo and really should have scored more goals.
“But I’m ready to celebrate my birthday and have a nice meal with people I want to be with.
“Mind you, I have some chores to do as I have a couple of sick horses that are lame.”
With Leeds losing, Tottenham are safe from relegation despite eight matches without a win. Caretaker-manager David Pleat, however, said he never thought they would drop into the first division.
“We deserve to be in the Premiership as we have had some good runs this season,” he said.
“We’ve just had a terrible run at the wrong time.
“There has been a tension in games because we have been in this spiral. We have found it difficult especially away from home.
“I thought we started the game well and after they scored, our goalkeeper had nothing to do in the first half. We kept at it but we weren’t clinical enough when we got forward.”
: Sorensen, De la Cruz, Mellberg, Ridgewell, Samuel, Solano (Delaney 90), McCann, Hitzlsperger, Barry, Angel (Allback 69), Crouch (Dublin 86).
: Keller, Kelly (Ricketts 71), Richards, Gardner, Taricco, Davies, Redknapp, Brown, Keane, Kanoute (Doherty 79), Defoe.
: N Barry (N Lincolnshire).
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