Carew puts Stoke shock behind him

John Carew is confident Aston Villa will suffer no hangover from their late fade-out against Stoke and are still on course to secure a Champions League spot for the first time.

Carew looked to have sealed victory for Villa with the second goal against Tony Pulis' side but they conceded two in the final three minutes and had to be content with a 2-2 draw.

Carew said: "It was disappointing not to have won the Stoke game when we were two goals up with only a few minutes to play. It was weird. It happens sometimes in football."

It means Villa remain six points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal going into Wednesday's Barclays Premier League meeting with Manchester City at Eastlands.

Carew added: "It was disappointing not to have won the Stoke game when we were two goals up with only a few minutes to play. It was weird. It happens sometimes in football.

"It was a big disappointment that we could not hold onto that lead. We should have held up the ball and pushed it around.

"There are now a few games we have not won (five in all competitions) but we now just have the league left for us to concentrate upon.

"That is really important to us as it means so much to the club and the fans, especially if we can achieve Champions League football.

Villa will be bidding for an eighth successive away league win before recharging their batteries in Dubai.

Carew said: "We are coming to the end of the season and people will feel it in the legs. I have nothing against the schedule which is quite heavy. As a team and individuals we can get a good momentum. We need to get it going with a victory on Wednesday."