Villa’s reunion with Rapid will test O’Neill’s commitment to Europa League

The name Rapid Vienna shouldn’t strike fear into the supporter of any established European club, but Villa’s reunion with the side that dumped Martin O’Neill’s team out of the Europa League at the same stage last year, doesn’t fill me with optimism.

Perhaps things would be different if O’Neill had a track record of taking the competition seriously, but unfortunately he doesn’t.

Instead he prefers to use it as a platform to advertise the inabilities of Nicky Shorey, Habib Beye and Brad Guzan.

Seemingly unhappy with the reward of playing European football for repeatedly finishing sixth in the league, Villa have upsettingly shown little desire on their travels abroad.

A re-match then with Rapid Vienna, who finished third in the Austrian league, is a tricky prospect, after they comfortably dealt with the threat of Villa last time and were unlucky not to score more in a 2-2 aggregate draw that saw them progress thanks to the away goals rule.

They still have 24 year-old Croatian striker Nikica Jelavić, who scored the decisive goal at Villa Park and he’ll be a threat when the sides meet again.

Buoyed by their recent victory over their opponents, Rapid will posses a belief that a victory is within their ability and they could prove to be a tougher opponent than their name or reputation suggests.

In theory the game should swing in the favour of Villa, as they are a better side on paper, but the Midlands club have rarely shown their best form in a competition that is perfectly capable of providing a few upsets.

After the slog of a long hard season though, it’s disappointing to repeatedly see the most not being made of the reward, but hopefully this time around O’Neill and the players will demonstrate a greater desire to progress than they have done previously.

Second-rate performances with under strength teams against Rapid and CSKA Moscow the season before, still leave a foul taste and the reunion with the Austrian team will be a test of how seriously O’Neill will take the completion.