DAVID SPEEDIE'S 80th-minute winner has really given Villa that sinking feeling.

A string of bad results has wrecked their season and they are perilously close to the relegation zone.

Speedie did nothing to ease their worries when he latched on to Brian Borrows' cross to head the winner at the near post.

Yet Villa had opened the scoring when Paul Birch found David Platt after 52 minutes.

Platt appeared to push Micky Gynn before lobbing the keeper to score.

The referee was shaping to call a free kick before Platt's lob, but he gave the goal.

Sky Blues player-boss Terry Butcher erupted in fury and was booked.

But Coventry equalised two minutes later when Speedie's shot ricocheted to Cyrille Regis, who fed scorer Gynn.

Villa can only hope Dr Jo comes up with a remedy before their condition is diagnosed as terminal.

Maybe that assessment sounds just a touch unsympathetic after a performance which offered genuine hope and improvement after Wednesday's Rumbelows League Cup debacle at Leeds.

But the fact remains that despite being bold enough to make significant changes for the second consecutive match, Villa still had nothing tangible to show for their efforts.

Defeat at Highfield Road left the suspicion that only an infusion of new blood is going to have the effect desired by manager Jozef Venglos.

He has indicated he will be making moves in that direction while his players enjoy a two-week break before their next match, and yet there was much to be said for the system employed on Saturday.

The return to a five-man back line was not an unqualified success, because the Sky Blues scored twice and created various other moments of panic.

Once Derek Mountfield has recovered from injury, though, it is surely Villa's best hope of defensive stability.

There may have been plenty passion and commitment in the final half hour as a laid back derby finally came to life.

Villa had controlled the first half, with Paul Birch and the recalled Kevin Gage dominant in midfield, and full-backs Chris Price and Stuart Gray overlapping menacingly.

But once Micky Gynn had stabbed his equaliser within two minutes, the game became something of a lottery.