Birmingham Mail: GARETH Barry has far from given up on a top-five finish and says Aston Villa can "last the pace". But he admits they must aim to win every one of their remaining 10 matches in a bid to qualify directly for Europe. Villa head into tonight's game with Middlesbrough on the back of taking seven points from three games but trail Everton and Liverpool by eight points. "Confidence is high after a great performance at the Emirates Stadium and we're all looking forward to it," said the skipper. "We haven't had many midweek games this season but if everything goes according to plan we'll have more next year as we play in Europe. "Europe is still very much a target. There are 10 games to go and that's 30 points to play for. If we can finish strongly, then I don't see why we can't do it." Barry says the key for Villa is to keep their own focus. "We can't worry too much about the teams in and around us," he said. "The main thing we've got to do is concentrate on ourselves, keep playing well and hopefully they'll slip up. "The competition is so hot at the top of this season but if everything goes according to plan we'll have more next year as we play in Europe. "Europe is still very much a target. There are 10 games to go and that's 30 points to play for. If we can finish strongly, then I don't see why we can't do it."

Birmingham Mail: MARTIN O'Neill says his Aston Villa side still have a way to go before they can be considered in the same bracket as John Gregory's UEFA Cup qualifiers. Villa had already finished fourth and fifth under Brian Little when Gregory succeeded the current Wrexham boss and led Villa to successive finishes of seventh, sixth, sixth and eighth in back-to-back seasons. They went on to finish eighth again under Graham Taylor, who had replaced him in February 2002, but Gregory's side - packed with big names bought for big money - also enjoyed runs to the FA Cup Final and the League Cup semi-final, ironically against O'Neill's Leicester. O'Neill now looks set to take Villa into the top six for the first time in four years when David O'Leary's side failed to get into Europe because Newcastle had a better goal difference. You have to go back to 2001 when they beat Basle to lift the InterToto Cup for Villa's last European qualification, but they have not got there through league placings for a decade since Little's final season, which was going badly until a late run under Gregory. On paper there would appear to be few similarities between that Villa side bursting with experience and the young batch of today. David James and Peter Schmeichel were in goal for Gregory, the likes of Gareth Southgate, Ugo Ehiogu, Steve Staunton, Alpay, Mark Delaney and Alan Wright kept the defence strong. Paul Merson, David Ginola, Ian Taylor, Moustapha Hadji, Alan Thompson, Steve Stone and George Boateng were dominant performers in the midfield, while Gregory relied on a strikeforce of Dion Dublin and Juan Pablo Angel.

Birmingham Mail: MARTIN O'Neill is expecting a tough examination of Aston Villa's European pretentions against Middlesbrough tonight. Villa have a poor recent home record against Gareth Southgate's side, having beaten them only once in the last four attempts. But Boro's successive league defeats and their FA Cup humiliation against Cardiff forced Southgate to make a public apology. "I don't know how anybody could look at certain games and chalk off victories," said O'Neill. "If a season could be decided like that, we'd all be in business. "Liverpool have been beaten this season at Reading and any side in this league can hurt you. Middlesbrough have got players who can do that. "Stewart Downing is a talent and a threat, there's no doubt about that. And they obviously have high hopes for the new centre-forward Alves so it's a hard game for us."

Express and Star: Villa boss Martin O'Neill has cranked up the stakes for tonight's game against Middlesbrough by insisting it is a "must-win" game to keep their European dream alive. Sixth-placed Villa aim are eight points adrift of the final Champions League place after Liverpool and Everton won at the weekend. O'Neill's side must now finish fifth to guarantee UEFA Cup football. "We're down to one league place available for Europe," said O'Neill. "It's the game in hand. We've got to win it, not try to win it." Gareth Southgate'sMiddlesbrough were dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship club Cardiff on Sunday. But O'Neill insisted they could not take things easy, saying: "We haven't reached the stage yet where we could treat a game even remotely lightly - far from it. "We haven't got that ability. "If we perform like we did against Fulham, we might not even finish in the top 10. I don't know how anybody could look at certain games and chalk off victories. "Middlesbrough have got players who can hurt you."

Express and Star: Captain Gareth Barry has warned Villa of a Middlesbrough backlash tonight. Boro were dumped out of the FA Cup by Cardiff last weekend and Gareth Southgate's side are desperate for points just four points above the drop zone. But the Villa skipper warned: "They'll be hurting from their cup exit, so we've got to be on our toes and be wary of them. "Middlesbrough might not be pushing for Europe like us, but they've got loads to play for. "It's becoming increasingly tight around the bottom of the table and every point is vital." Barry meanwhile wants plenty more midweek action in the future - because it will mean Villa are in Europe. Tonight's game is only the second midweek home League game in 2007-08 after the Tottenham match on New Year's Day. "We haven't had many midweek games this season, but if everything goes according to plan, we'll have more next year as we play in Europe," he said.

Express and Star: Gareth Southgate doesn't usually get much sympathy from Villa fans these days. The captain of Villa's 2000 FA Cup final team sullied his name to many Holte Enders when he slapped in a transfer request and played on for a season before moving to tonight's opponents Middlesbrough. Boro were then perceived as the more ambitious club and salt was rubbed in Villa's wounds with backroom staff Steve Harrison and Paul Barron also departing for somewhere that became known as 'Villaboro'. But as he takes his first steps in management, Villa boss Martin O'Neill has been more than impressed with his counterpart. And he believes Southgate is at the perfect club to progress under chairman Steve Gibson. "I think Middlesbrough possess one of the best chairmen in the business in any era," said O'Neill.

Guardian Unlimited: Aston Villa, so far as is known, do not encourage youngsters to read Mein Kampf and certainly never incorporated swastikas into their club crest. But they do pay heed to at least one piece of advice promoted by Lord Baden Powell. Accordingly, their club motto, as proudly displayed on their shirts, is simply: "PREPARED". Perhaps "REPAIRED" would more accurately reflect what Randy Lerner and Martin O'Neill have done since respectively replacing Doug Ellis and David O'Leary in 2006. Or, better yet given that Villa still have one of the smallest squads in the Premier League and would be unable to cope with any European campaign suddenly foisted upon them: "WORK IN PROGRESS". That European campaign is something they'll probably have to contend with next season. Given that Villa aren't going to finish fifth in the top flight, despite O'Neill's bullish protestations to the contrary, if it's to be via any route other than the InterToto Cup, then their manager will be cheering on Everton against Fiorentina tonight. If Everton win the Uefa Cup and finish fifth, then the sixth-place Premier League team will join them, the Carling Cup winners and the FA Cup winners as England's representatives in the competition next season (otherwise only three English teams will automatically qualify, assorted head-wrecking Cardiff City - and Liverpool-related permutations notwithstanding). The one thing Villa know for sure is that if they beat Middlesbrough tonight they will edge closer to consolidating a highly credible sixth-place finish and convincing us that they are a club with a bright future. Under Lerner and O'Neill, Villa have advanced step-by-step. Lerner has not simply splashed the cash but invested shrewdly - in training facilities, youth development, and a PR campaign and image revamp (yes, semper fidelis, General Krulak!) that revitalised miserablist fans. And, of course, in O'Neill, who has been equally methodical. The manager has slowly and sensibly replaced O'Leary's men with his own but without spending lavishly, other than on Ashley Young and Stiliyan Petrov. This season he has, in fact, balanced the books, flogging promising youngsters such as Luke Moore and Liam Ridgewell to fund modest outlays for typical O'Neill signings like Wayne Routledge and Marlon Harewood. A Wenger-esque refusal to splurge just for the sake of it means Villa are diligently scouring the world for a goalkeeper in an effort to avoid having to pay Liverpool the £10m it would take to make Scott Carson a permanent signing this summer. The Villa revival is not, then, borne of a Manchester City or West Ham-style spendfest.

Sporting Life: Martin O'Neill has admitted England's failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals was a major factor in Aston Villa applying to enter the Intertoto Cup this summer - should they miss out on an automatic spot in Europe. Villa had five players - Gareth Barry, Scott Carson, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Curtis Davies - named in Fabio Capello's provisional squad for last month's friendly with Switzerland at Wembley. It was likely that three or four of them could have been in contention for European Championships in Austria and Switzerland which would have meant enjoying a shortened summer break before reporting back with Villa. But England's non-participation has helped to make up O'Neill's mind to take part in the Intertoto if they fail to finish in the top five of the Premier League. O'Neill said: "I felt the players needed a bit of a breather last summer after playing their first season with me as manager. "Had England been involved in Euro 2008, I might have decided again not to put our name forward for the Intertoto given the contingent of players who might have been with England and if John Carew had been involved in the finals with Norway. "But, considering most of our players are going to have no summer commitments apart from maybe an England friendly in early June, it meant I was always going to be interested in the Intertoto."

Sky Sports: Martin O'Neill believes qualifying for Europe would attract more players to Aston Villa and help him retain his current stars. Villa tackle Middlesbrough at Villa Park tonight looking to close the gap on Liverpool and Everton to five points. With a fifth-placed finish likely to be required for a Uefa Cup berth after Tottenham's Carling Cup triumph and the exit of all Premier League clubs except Portsmouth from the FA Cup, O'Neill knows his side face an uphill task. And he accepts that they must take all three points against Gareth Southgate's men this evening if they are to maintain the pressure on the Merseyside duo. He told The Sun: "It's our game in hand and we've not got to try and win it, we have got to win it. "Playing in Europe is a definite lift when you are bringing players in. The club is progressing along the right lines - but the possibility of European football is very enticing. "It's all to play for now. Everton and Liverpool have opened up a considerable gap which means less room for error. "These boys enjoy playing week-in, week-out and I'm not fearful of losing them. But playing European football is a massive part of their development now."

Sky Sports: O'Neill has a back-up plan with Villa applying for entry to the Intertoto Cup, with his decision swayed by England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008. He said: "Had England been involved in Euro 2008, I might have decided again not to put our name forward for the Intertoto given the contingent of players who might have been with England and if John Carew had been involved in the finals with Norway. "But, considering most of our players are going to have no summer commitments apart from maybe an England friendly in early June, it meant I was always going to be interested in the Intertoto. "We do not have to cut short our pre-season break because of the Intertoto. We will have to play two games in the second half of July. "That is not like starting off halfway through June which has happened with some clubs in the past. "We are coming back for pre-season training in early July which we would have been doing irrespective of whether we were in the Intertoto or not."