O’Neill bemoans transfer market

MARTIN O’NEILL has admitted it may be “difficult” to secure the quality of player needed to take Aston Villa to the next level.

O’Neill is expected to complete the signing of Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell in the next few days for a fee in the region of £5million (€6.3m).

O’Neill has a number of other targets in the pipeline, including Blackburn winger David Bentley who has been linked with a £15m (€19m) switch to Villa.