Taylor feeling the heat at Villa

Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor has admitted he is feeling the pressure from the threat of being sucked into a Premiership relegation battle.

Villa face a crucial clash with West Ham at Upton Park on Saturday and Taylor accepted defeat would drag his side into the scrap to stay in the top flight.

And to make matters worse his three experienced centre-backs Olof Mellberg, Ronny Johnsen and Ozalan Alpay are all suffering from a flu virus which has seen them confined to bed and will mean a late roll call.

The current predicament is not the kind of scenario that Taylor envisaged when he returned to Villa Park for a second spell in charge 14 months ago.

But a chronic lack of goal power – Villa have had more shots than any Premiership side but also the most off-target this season – has left them in an unhealthy position.

Victory tomorrow would ease the situation to the extent that Villa would be nine points clear of the third from bottom Hammers with just five matches remaining.

But a reversal would mean that the gap between Villa and Glenn Roeder’s side would be down to just three points – and a daunting trio of fixtures ahead in Chelsea (home) followed by Newcastle and Everton away.

Taylor is extolling the need for his players to adopt a positive attitude when they take on the Hammers and the general performances in draws at Southampton and at home to Arsenal have been encouraging.

But he knows the heat will be on by 5pm on Saturday afternoon if Villa do not manage to avoid defeat.

Taylor said: “I feel under the pressure I allow myself to be under. I can control it but I wish I wasn’t under the pressure I am under.

“You can’t be flippant about this because I didn’t come back to Villa to be in 15th place and there being talk about being dragged into a relegation battle.

“Pressure is something you can control but if I was to say ’I don’t feel under any pressure’ then I’d be telling a real lie.”

Taylor admitted: “If we lose we are dragged into the relegation picture. To lose this game would put West Ham three points behind us.

“But it would be silly for us to go to Upton Park with a negative attitude. We’ve got to be very positive and three points would mean there being a lot more relaxation about the place.

“People see avoiding defeat as being paramount but I’d rather go the other way. If we go looking for a win, then we’re more than likely to avoid a defeat. If we go actually looking for a draw, you invite a defeat onto you.

“One would expect West Ham to come out of the traps very quickly and probably in the early stages we will have no alternative but to defend. But if we play as we have done the last two or three games, then we should create chances.”

Skipper Mellberg has the best chance of recovering sufficiently to play but Taylor all but ruled out Johnsen and Alpay. It could mean Gareth Barry or new Wales international Rob Edwards partnering Mellberg.

Leading scorer Dion Dublin will complete a three-game ban for his sending-off against Birmingham City for head-butting Robbie Savage.

Marcus Allback is challenging for a place in the starting line-up after impressing as a substitute against Arsenal after his two goals for Sweden in the Euro qualifier in Hungary.