Davies wants to gatecrash the party

Aston Villa’s £10m central defender Curtis Davies has told the Barclays Premier League big guns: “We are here to stay.”

Villa, who face Hull tonight, have gatecrashed the top four this season and Davies is convinced the Boxing Day comeback to draw 2-2 against Arsenal marks them out as genuine Champions League contenders.

He said: “We are in our current position because we have deserved it.

“It was a massive result for us against Arsenal and a massive boost for us.

“If we can follow up that performance at Hull we will be well on the way to maintaining our impressive form.

“But the Hull game is tricky in the light of their last two defeats.

“They could easily bite back as they have done well against the big clubs. We have to be very wary of a side who have suffered an injury to their pride.

“Going into 2009 we now need to keep doing everything we have done already this season.

“We have played very well for the first half of the season but we know that it is no use slowing down in the second half.

“We need to keep it going to remain one step ahead of the opposition.

“The bigger clubs always say ’judge us in May’ and we want to be one of those teams.

“There is a massive spirit in the club and to come back from being 2-0 down against a team like Arsenal is a tremendous achievement.

“We have to take confidence from this performance.

“We have a good squad and, depending upon what the manager does in the January transfer window, we believe we can stay in the top four.

“Remember we also have big John Carew to come back after his back injury.

“Martin Laursen and Carlos Cuellar were also missing from the Arsenal game and to make two changes in the back four against such a team as Arsenal and do really well shows the depth we have at Villa.”

The loss of Laursen for up to a month with a knee problem means Davies is forging a new central defensive pairing with Zat Knight whose late goal against Arsenal earned Villa their point.

Davies added: “Zat has been frustrated because he has not played as often as he would have liked but against Arsenal he stood head and shoulders above everyone.”

Davies’ optimism for Villa’s future is shared by midfielder Stiliyan Petrov, who has no doubt the team’s lofty position is not a fluke.

Bulgaria international Petrov said: “Since the start of the season we have shown we can match the top clubs.”

Villa manager Martin O’Neill is set to retain the side that started against Arsenal for the trip to Hull with Laursen, Cuellar and Carew still missing through injury.