Mirror: John Carew admits Aston Villa may be paying the price for complacency after seeing their European hopes take another blow. Villa's shock home defeat to Sunderland, who had not won away in the Premier League all season, has virtually ended Martin O'Neill's hopes of finishing fifth. "If we made that mistake against Middlesbrough, taking them for granted, then we should have learned and not done it again," said striker Carew. "Sunderland was a match we should win at home and I felt myself and the other players felt good when we stepped out there. "We don't write off our chances of qualifying for Europe yet but this was a blow."

Mirror: Villa have almost certainly chucked away their chances of overhauling fifth-placed Everton for a guaranteed place in Europe next term. After drawing at Arsenal at the start of the month with a brilliant display, Martin O'Neill's young side still had a chance of finishing fourth and making the Champions League. But a return of just one point from their last three games has ended those hopes. "It's a big blow," said skipper Gareth Barry. "We were looking to bounce back after couple of disappointing performances. "We've got to take a look at ourselves because that's three games in a row we've dropped points. The goals we're conceding are hurting us because they're simple mistakes we should be dealing with. But we're going to battle right to the end even though finishing fifth will take some doing."

Mirror: Wycombe boss Paul Lambert reaches the milestone of 100 games in charge today - and is on course to be their most successful manager since Martin O'Neill. Lambert, 38, is following in the footsteps of his former Celtic boss O'Neill as his win ratio is 43 per cent which means he has a better record than former bosses John Gregory, Lawrie Sanchez and Tony Adams. That has made Lambert one of the hottest British managerial prospects outside of the Premier League, especially as he is following in the footsteps of his mentor O'Neill who cut his managerial teeth at Wycombe. Ex-Scotland captain Lambert is also a European Cup winner after winning the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, played for Aston Villa boss O'Neill at Celtic and has turned to him for help and advice.

Independent: Villa were poor and did not look like a team who have been in the thick of the chase for European football. Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor played as if their season has already gone on too long and provided poor support for John Carew. "Our overall play was disappointing and it is my responsibility," said their manager, Martin O'Neill.

Times: Villa have produced some magnificent performances away from home this season and, until recently, had done enough at home to suggest sixth place was theirs for the taking. O'Neill has engineered a tight squad that works hard for one another but the problem is, with Nigel Reo-Coker, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carson out of form, the support players are out of touch or out of the club. Villa might have steamrollered Sunderland if John Carew's ninth-minute overhead kick, or Marlon Harewood's stabbed shot, a minute after his arrival, had gone in. When they did not, the game plan deteriorated. "The big thing about really good teams is that they win when they play badly," O'Neill said. "The crowd would have forgiven us that if we had eked out a win. It's my job to get it right. We've had over 42,000 people here today expecting better than that. "Every misplaced pass is my job. I have to do better. However the team performs, it's down to me. I've been here 19 months and this is as low as I've felt. Today shows we have a good distance to go."

Sun: Martin O'Neill's body language in the dugout spoke volumes and he confirmed afterwards that this was his lowest point since arriving at the club. His cause has not been helped by the fact that keeper Scott Carson looks more nervous by the game, that Zat Knight tends to ball-watch, that Gabby Agbonlahor's confidence appears to be draining away. Even scorer Chopra admitted: "I knew if I made a run in behind their defence there was going to be enough space. I knew I was going to chip it over the keeper and I was surprised Scott didn't come out a bit earlier to try and force me into a decision." O'Neill cannot control what happens on the pitch but he must hold up his hands at the failure to add more depth to his wafer-thin squad in January. He has left himself with little room to manoeuvre now. On Saturday, Villa head to Manchester United. Generally they perform well against United ? without winning ? but O'Neill will not be fooled as he begins his post- mortem on the season. Two out of 12 points is a poor return. Three wins from the last nine home games is not good enough for a club with their sights set upwards. March has been all downhill, ever since the 1-1 draw at Arsenal. The Gunners' injury-time equaliser has had the same effect as a slow puncture.