Did Aston Villa Boss Martin O'Neill Get It Wrong?

Aston Villa were cruising to three precious Premier League points with three minutes to go on Sunday and then they conceded two late goals to relegation-threatened Stoke City.

It was a game Villa and their expectant fans had earmarked for three points especially after Martin O'Neill selected a reserve side for last week's UEFA Cup clash with CSKA Moscow. But they had to settle for just a point after the battling Potters rescued a 2-2 draw at Villa Park.

So in a week after Villa were knocked out of the UEFA Cup and failed to open up a bigger gap on fifth-placed Arsenal, who could only draw against Fulham, did O'Neill get it right leaving out his big guns in Moscow?

I can't help thinking Villa missed a trick in the UEFA Cup. A full-strength Villa would have given CSKA Moscow a tough time and I'm confident Villa's young guns are fit enough to have played twice in the space of four days because their squad simply isn't big enough.

But O'Neill made the decision to field a shadow side in Moscow with several of the squad having very little first-team experience. In fact just three players kept their places for the date with Stoke. As expected Villa were beaten 2-0 in the Russian capital, but I believe the selection policy then placed added pressure on a 'fresh' Villa to beat Stoke.

It didn't happen, but O'Neill, who is one the finest coaches around, is sticking to his guns.

O'Neill said: "I took the decision to do what I did (in Moscow). People seem to forget that in every FA Cup game we've gone as strongly as possible.

"We went really strongly in the first game against CSKA and tried to get ourselves in front and then we looked a bit tired in the following game against Chelsea.

"On the basis of what is ahead of us, I made the decision. Not for one minute do I think the UEFA Cup is unimportant. But in terms of priority, I had to make a decision.

"I am a football manager and that is my job."

Villa still lead Arsenal by six points and at today's latest odds are 1.62 to finish in the top four.

O'Neill will rightly be lauded if his men secure Champions League football, but will he rest players in the Champions League next season if Villa are going well again in the Premier League?

By Phil Tomlinson, a professional sports writer who blogs about football and football betting.