Express & Star: Gareth Barry insists Villa must rally around keeper Scott Carson after his latest mistake cost the team. Carson appeared to hesitate as Michael Chopra lifted the ball over him after Zat Knight allowed the ball to bounce in Saturday's 1-0 defwsat to Sunderland. Barry admits Carson's mistake against Portsmouth last week may have played on his mind. "Last week may have been in the back of his mind, but we'll take the goal conceded as a responsibility of the whole team, not just Scott," said the skipper. "I haven't seen the goal again, but maybe it was a case of he thought about coming and stopped again, I'm not sure."

Express & Star: Dejected Martin O'Neill admitted Villa didn't perform and sympathised with the fans after another poor result and performance. Villa have now taken two points from 12 and one from six at home after losing to Sunderland. "It was a poor day," said the Villa boss. "It was particularly disappointing because it was the opportunity for us to get back on track, to force the pace and force a win. "We went out knowing one of our main rivals Portsmouth had already lost and we failed to take advantage. "We didn't necessarily have to play wonderfully well - it was just about winning. But not only did we fail to win, we lost. "I understand the frustrations of the fans. This is something we have to put right. "This was a home game. It's our responsibility to attack and make it as entertaining as possible. "I accept towards the end of the season perhaps you might get a nervous performance and we looked nervous, but if you get a nervous performance, make sure you win. We didn't."

Express & Star: John Carew has dismissed suggestions Villa's slump has been caused by tiredness. Saturday's defeat to Sunderland meant Villa have collected just two points from 12 and have failed to score in their last two games. Villa have the smallest squad in the Premier League and several players such as Gareth Barry, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young have struggled to keep up their best form in recent weeks. But Carew said: "We shouldn't be more tired than any other team. "It's difficult to know but we're so well-trained we should be able to cope. We're not playing in European competition, so we should be 1000 per cent in each match. "That's not too much to ask, we should be able to put 100 per cent in each match until the end of the season. "That's what everyone expects as well, but like everyone else, I'm wondering why we're performing like we are. "We produced a bad performance against Middlesbrough which was strange coming after the Arsenal game which had given us a boost. "Arsenal was such a positive experience and we got great belief and should have responded better, but it's gone the other way - we've been the opposite. "If we were poor against Middlesbrough, we should have learned our lesson on Saturday, so I don't think that (taking opponents lightly) was the problem."

ITV Football: Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry is convinced he and Owen Hargreaves can play effectively together in the same England team. Manager Fabio Capello, in charge for the second time against France in Paris on Wednesday, is renowned for operating with a 4-2-3-1 formation incorporating two defensive midfielders. Barry has made that role his own in the national side since returning from the international wilderness under previous England boss Steve McClaren. Hargreaves, one of England's stars of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, has had his fair share of injury problems during the last two seasons but is preferred to Manchester United team-mate Michael Carrick in the 23-man party to face France. And Barry believes the two can work together, saying: "I've been in a few under-21 squads with Owen years back and this year when he's been in the England squad. "You get compared to any player who plays in your certain position. "I don't think we are similar players. We play in the same sort of position - or that's where the England manager sees us - but we can both do different jobs and I'm sure we can play together too."

Birmingham Mail: Gareth Barry has tipped Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor to bounce back from their England omissions and has also refused to criticise Scott Carson after his nervy performance against Sunderland. All three failed to make Fabio Capello's final 23-man squad for the friendly against France in Paris on Wednesday, although Carson had to pull out with a knee injury. Young and Agbonlahor have struggled in Villa's three-game slump and Barry admits there is less of a "surprise" element to their play as defences are aware of their qualities. He said: "It's too easy just to blame Gabby and Ashley. They have both had fantastic seasons. People will start to get to know how they play, but this is their second season and they have produced the goods again. "They'll bounce back once the team starts winning Ð that will give everyone confidence, not just those two players."

Birmingham Mail: Martin O'Neill refused to point the finger of blame at Scott Carson following another shaky performance in Villa's second straight defeat. But the boss has indicated to the on-loan Liverpool keeper that he must be prepared to come for more off his line. Carson was again caught in no man's land when Michael Chopra raced on to a long clearance by Kieran Richardson and lofted the ball over the stranded keeper. And he had earlier escaped a red card when he appeared to handle outside the area after dropping a routine cross. O'Neill said: "What shall I say? We had a couple of shaky moments around our goal, I would like Scott to keep coming off his line, not be rooted to it, even if it means a mistake here or there. But he wouldn't be the only one to have made a few mistakes today." Carson pulled out of the England squad to travel to France with a knee injury, while Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young were omitted from Fabio Capello's revised squad, leaving only Gareth Barry flying the Villa flag.

Birmingham Mail: John Carew refused to blame tiredness for Villa's slump in form and the Norwegian striker says the door to Europe is still ajar. Villa have stumbled to successive league defeats for the first time since December and now trail Everton by eight points with just seven games left to play. Carew said: "We're not writing off our chances of qualifying for Europe. "We go to the next match now. In our heads we take it one match at a time and try to win the matches that are left and, if we do that, we still have a chance. "Sure it (the defeat to Sunderland) was a blow, but it's not over until it's over." Manager Martin O'Neill has already discounted fatigue as a reason for Villa's troubles, and Carew is similarly not looking to make excuses. "We shouldn't be more tired than any other team. We produced a bad performance against Middlesbrough, which was strange coming after the Arsenal game, which had given us a boost. "Arsenal was such a positive experience and we got great belief and should have responded better, but it's gone the other way. "It's difficult to know but we're so well-trained we should be able to cope. We're not playing in European competition, so we should be 100 per cent in each match. "That's not too much to ask, we should be able to put 100 per cent into each match until the end of the season."

Birmingham Mail: Gareth Barry attempted to put a brave face on Villa's wretched run of form and said they would continue to strive for European qualification. The skipper found it difficult to hide his disappointment after the defeat to Sunderland, which meant Blackburn and Manchester City moved level on points with all three aiming to get into the InterToto Cup if Everton and Liverpool cannot be overhauled. "It was a big blow,'' said Barry. "We were looking to bounce back after a couple of disappointing performances but we've got to look at ourselves because that's three games we've dropped points in now. "We feel we can still qualify for Europe - the players and manager know it only takes one game to turn it around. "We'll fight right to the end - eight points off fifth place with seven games left is a big margin and it will take some doing. "But we've applied for the InterToto and we'll try to finish as high as possible because there are other teams that have applied too and there's only one space available."

Birmingham Mail: Martin O'Neill says it could be time for him to assess why his players may be wilting under the strain of the huge expectations at Villa Park. And the manager today called for a "renewed determination" to get Villa's season back on track. They may not have qualified for Europe through the Premier League for a decade but O'Neill has been driven by a burning desire this season to re-shape recent history. The Irishman, who said he will take "full responsibility" for the team's recent fall from grace, admitted he sank to his lowest ebb in 20 months at Villa Park after the weekend defeat to Sunderland. Back-to-back home disappointments to North-East neighbours Middlesbrough and the Black Cats were greeted by a chorus of boos from the home fans and O'Neill's patience may have snapped. "It doesn't matter about expectation. Aston Villa Football Club should be about expectation,'' he said. "How the players are coping with that is something we're all going to have to analyse."