BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARTIN O'Neill is refusing to give up on Aston Villa's battle to secure European qualification but has admitted that it will only take one result to wreck their end to the season.

The chase is on for O'Neill as he attempts to take his burgeoning side onto the European stage next season and, while never being one for hyperbole, insists it is 'crunch time' for his squad.

Villa are now eight points behind Liverpool and Everton after the Mersey pair's wins over Newcastle and Sunderland respectively.

After their encounter with Middlesbrough, they then travel to Portsmouth this weekend in what will be another crucial game but he has told his players to relish the prospect of over-taking the clubs above them and guarantee a dramatic end to the season.

He said: 'We've got work to do to stay in contention. We have only got a couple of points and one-game respite on the sides behind us but there's plenty to go for now.

'We've levelled up home-and-away matches for a start and have now got five home and five away.

'With us now being eight points off fifth place that probably puts things into perspective, but I don't think you can worry yourselves too much.

'We've got two games in three days and I think it's a very important time for us.

'Everything's important anyway, but it's magnified now because we don't have the time or the games to put it right if it goes wrong.

'Now it's down to the real crunch time - we've got 10 games left and we need to win quite a few of them.'

O'Neill is adamant that Liverpool will claim the fourth Premier League place, but he has warned that there is still much to play for.

'I've often said and it is worth repeating that I think Liverpool are very strong favourites,' he said.

'They have the strongest squad and I know they're still involved in the Champions League, but they have the squad to cope and I think that's been proven.

'But everything is worth chasing. You can finish sixth this season and not qualify for Europe.

'And we're still in a position where we could finish anywhere between fourth and ninth or 10th.'

Meanwhile, Gareth Southgate has challenged Middlesbrough to bounce straight back from their FA Cup nightmare.

Boro have an immediate opportunity to help banish the memories of their shock 2-0 quarter-final defeat at the hands of Championship side Cardiff City.

Southgate admits his side have much to atone for after their limp home exit at the weekend and knows his side must put on a show at Villa Park to help them win back the respect of disgruntled fans who were denied a Wembley semi-final trip by the inept display.

He said: 'We've got to stick together as a group because we've got 10 big games in the league still to play. I've lost matches before and I'm still here to tell the tale but how we respond to this defeat is very important. We've got to get our pride and the respect of the supporters back.'

The Teesside club are only four points clear of safety after back-to-back league defeats, and the manager added: 'The only way to earn that respect again is back on the field. At the moment, we're getting slaughtered, and rightly so.

Our fans are angry and frustrated, they wanted to make that trip to Wembley.'