Laursen hopeful over Champions League

Aston Villa defender Martin Laursen remains optimistic the club can still qualify for next season’s Champions League despite their recent poor run of form.

Villa, who have not won a Barclays Premier League match since February 7, are three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal and face Manchester United after the international break.

They have lost six league games since beating Blackburn almost two months ago, the latest being Sunday’s humiliating 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool.

“Of course it doesn’t look great, but we still have a chance,” said Laursen, who is recovering from a serious knee injury.

“There are still eight games left, and Arsenal have some difficult games to come, so we are still believing.”

Laursen added of last weekend’s defeat: “That was, of course, too many goals to let in, but Liverpool are strong right now and there wasn’t really much we could do about it.”