O'Neill again has Villa threatening a top four finish

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has warned his top-four chasing side not to get complacent and suffer a decline like last season.

Villa, who are currently fourth, were in a similar position last February but ended the campaign finishing sixth.

"The same thing might happen again," said O'Neill, whose side travel to third-placed Arsenal on 27 December and Liverpool two days later.

"We are on a decent run but the Premier League is very unforgiving."

Villa had a five-point lead over Arsenal in February last season but a defeat by Chelsea kick-started a run which saw them win just two of their final 13 league matches.

"We lost to Chelsea, drew with Stoke and lost to Manchester City and we were rocked, knocked back and lost a bit of confidence," added O'Neill.

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"While we regained it eventually by finishing in the top six and getting into Europe - which I think is sometimes forgotten - we were unable to sustain the run."

This season, Villa have beaten Hull, Manchester United, Sunderland and Stoke in their last four games and are again looking set to put in a strong challenge to get into the top four to secure a Champions League spot.

But O'Neill is remaining on his guard and said: "You are going along nicely, you win a couple of games but then you pick up a couple of injuries, lose a game and want to know where the next win is coming from.

"I think it's very much the case of same again. We are hanging in but we're playing well, with plenty of confidence. We are managing to win games when we go behind and when we get in front too.

"But I heard (Tottenham manager) Harry Redknapp speaking the other day about how fickle it all can be.

"He said you can win two consecutive games and you're unbeatable and you lose a couple of games and you're useless. I think the same applies to us."

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