*Angel lifts Villa clear*

Wishful thinking or not, John Gregory says his Villa players still believe they can qualify for a top four, Champions League place next season.

“That may look a tall order, but it only takes a run of three or four wins to send you shooting up the table,” he wrote in yesterday’s programme note.

Well, Villa tucked this one under their belt, only the second time in 14 league and cup games that they have come out on top. But the quality fell a long way short of what is needed to make up the leeway on those above them.

Ten-man Derby, who sank deeper into trouble, gave them an uncomfortable afternoon, soaking up plenty of pressure while looking lively on the break. Villa just about deserved to prevail in a niggling sort of match, but they will need to play a good deal better to convince supporters that they are capable of turning the campaign round.

These two teams may have been nursing FA Cup wounds, but they contrived to produce a first half-hour full of incident with three goals and a sending-off.

Although he was up all night on Thursday with his fiancée, who gave birth to twin girls on Friday, Paul Merson insisted to his manager, John Gregory, that he was eager to play, and it was Merson’s enterprising work that helped give Villa the advantage. So much so that Colin Todd, who had already made four changes to his starting line-up after the embarrassing defeat by Bristol Rovers, soon made another switch. Todd took off Steve Elliott, reorganised his defence and brought on Giorgi Kinkladze, a player who has been told he can leave the club, in midfield.

Villa went ahead when Peter Schmeichel came 30 yards out of his area to float in a free-kick that Juan Pablo Angel flicked on for Darius Vassell to drive sweetly into the top far corner.

Two minutes later, Schmeichel seemed slow to react to Lloyd Samuel’s backpass, enabling Malcolm Christie to cross low for Darryl Powell to nudge home.

Before Derby had time to consolidate, François Grenet went in high on Lee Hendrie and with the Villa player left in a heap, referee Mark Halsey delivered an instant red card.

Gregory, despite having Moustapha Hadji and Hassan Kachloul available after injury, kept both on the bench, restricting himself to one change - Mark Delaney returning for Alan Wright.

His team regained the lead courtesy of Ian Taylor’s diagonal cross and Angel’s far-post header that registered his 13th goal of the season.

There was more danger for Derby when Steve Staunton lined up an in-swinging free-kick wide right, but Fabrizio Ravanelli was back helping out his defenders and darted in ahead of Angel at the near post to clear.

Kinkladze’s first real run at the Villa defence released Christie, whose shot was blocked. Villa came away through Taylor, whose ball in to Hendrie was stabbed just wide.

While Todd called over Kinkladze for instructions from the touchline, Villa were forced into a substitution, the limping Taylor making way for Kachloul.

The 10 men were giving a good account, and Ravanelli turned away in delight after knocking in the rebound after Christie rounded off a weaving run with a shot pushed out by Schmeichel. But an offside flag ruled out the goal.

Staunton took the opportunity to advance again, this time firing in a shot that Kinkladze blocked. Samuel was shown yellow for a challenge that left Christie needing treatment. Then Derby introduced Adam Bolder for Luciano Zavagno.

Ravanelli spurned the opportunity to try his luck with a free-kick 25 yards out, preferring instead to set up Danny Higginbotham, who was left cursing his luck as a cracking effort flew just over.

As tempers shortened, Olof Mellberg, Kinkladze and Paul Boertien went into the referee’s book.