Martin O'Neill has recognised the contribution of Richard Dunne ahead of Manchester United's visit tonight, with the Aston Villa manager claiming the central defender's "immense" performances since arriving from Manchester City in the summer make him a worthy contender to be shortlisted for the footballer of the year award.
The Republic of Ireland international has been highly impressive in a Villa defence that has the best record in the Premier League, and although Wayne Rooney would appear to be the overwhelming favourite to be nominated as the season's outstanding player, O'Neill believes that Dunne's form deserves to be recognised. The Villa manager described the 30-year-old's display against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday as "sensational" and claimed that his £5m transfer fee represented "incredible value".
"If the season was to end in two or three weeks, Dunne would certainly be up there as a contender for player of the year," said O'Neill. "He has been immense for us. Playing back the game against Tottenham on Saturday, if I needed any recent proof, he got two or three great blocks, he read two or three situations brilliantly, and he was playing against real quality players. I am absolutely delighted with him. We obviously got a bit of luck with what was happening at Manchester City at the time. But for £5m he has been incredible value."
Although Villa have kept eight clean sheets in their last 10 league games, including a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford, the goals have also dried up at the other end of the pitch. They have fired blanks in five of their past six league matches. "Overall, I wouldn't mind converting one or two of the chances we are creating. Sometimes the games hinge on those," said O'Neill, who expects Emile Heskey to miss out because of a groin injury. "But it hasn't become critical for us at the minute, perhaps because of the quality of the opposition we have played."
Things are unlikely to get any easier for Villa this evening with United their opponents, and O'Neill also anticipates that the task will be made even harder because of their away win in December. "I'm sure that they're a stronger team for that defeat," said the Villa manager. "Sir Alex Ferguson was very complimentary about our efforts at Old Trafford but I would think that would galvanise them so I expect them to be at their strongest now."
O'Neill, nonetheless, remains optimistic that Villa can sustain their pursuit of a place in the top four, providing they remain in touch with Liverpool, Manchester City and Spurs come the end of the month. The fixture list between now and the end of the season could certainly be a lot worse, with Villa taking on bottom-half opposition in nine of their remaining 13 matches after the United game.
