Taylor: We may not sign new players

Aston Villa boss Graham Taylor has admitted there may be no new faces to aid the ailing Midlands outfit when the transfer window opens next week.

Taylor watched his side slump to a 3-1 defeat against Manchester City at Maine Road yesterday, extending a miserable run of away-day performances which leaves Villa precariously placed above the relegation zone.

Given his team’s abysmal goalscoring record this season, a new striker would be top priority if Taylor did have any money. But the former England manager knows he has to sell before he can buy, a dilemma which is creating a major headache.

“The problem for clubs like ours is that some of the players you want to sell are on salaries which other clubs might find difficult to match,” he said.

“I have to sell before I can buy but I won’t be the only manager in that position. I shall have to wait until next week and see what I have got.”

It was little consolation to the visitors that Dion Dublin became the first Villa striker to find the net in the Premiership away from home.

The former England front-man was netting only the third away goal for his team in the league when he levelled Marc-Vivien Foe’s opener just before half-time at Maine Road.

But with City substitute Ali Benarbia turning the match on its head with a 20-minute cameo appearance in which he put the home side in front with a brave diving header before setting up Foe for his second – and fifth in four games - Villa have now failed to record a win in 10 Premier League trips this term which have gleaned a paltry three points.

Thankfully, Villa wrap up their Christmas programme with successive home games against Middlesbrough and Bolton which Taylor hopes will signal a much-needed change in fortune.

“Not for the first time, we put ourselves in a position to go on and win a game and instead go on and lose it,” said Taylor.

“Somewhere along the line we need someone who is going to score on a regular basis.

“When you are playing away from home, you can’t keep coming from behind all the time. That has been our problem for most of the season.”

For City, it was a welcome return to winning form after Monday’s disappointing home reverse at the hands of Tottenham.

Once more, the home side failed to make the most of first-half dominance, with Eyal Berkovic admitting the arrival of fellow playmaker Benarbia tipped the balance in City’s favour.

“Until Ali came on, we were playing good football without doing enough to score,” said the Israeli.

“He is a great player and an inspiration to us. He made the difference in what was a very important game because we needed to come back from the Tottenham defeat.”

Manager Kevin Keegan has assured Benarbia of a starting spot against Fulham at Loftus Road tomorrow, although combative Australian Danny Tiatto is certain to miss out after being replaced during the interval yesterday.

Keegan fears Tiatto will require a hernia operation, although the exact diagnosis is not expected until later today.

“We are not doing badly at the moment but we can do better,” said Berkovic.

“Our expectation and ambition is to be in the top eight. We certainly don’t want to be struggling near the bottom.

“But we need to win a few matches on the run to achieve our aims because at the moment we are a little bit inconsistent.”