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CAREW TARGETS TOP-FOUR FINISH

Carew - aiming for top four.

Striker John Carew insists Aston Villa have "nothing to be scared of" from Liverpool as they look to break into the top four of the Barclays Premier League.

The Norway international believes the Reds cautious approach during Sunday's goalless draw is a testament to how much Villa have improved under Martin O'Neill.

Winger Ashley Young found himself man-marked throughout the entire 90 minutes as Rafael Benitez successfully snuffed out the normally free-scoring Villa attack.

But Carew is confident Villa can push on and make a strong challenge in the bid to try and secure Champions League football.

"The fact we are disappointed at not beating Liverpool shows the club is going forward," Carew said.

"It almost looked like they came for a draw. They had a lot of guys behind the ball. The fact they played like that showed they are wary of our attack.

"It was difficult to create chances but their approach probably affected a bit of their offensive play as well because they didn't really create anything either."

Carew continued: "There is a definite belief among the younger lads that they can break into the top four.

"We were not 100% satisfied with a draw against Liverpool and that means the club is moving in the right direction - and that is definitely to be amongst the top four.

"Looking at Liverpool on Sunday, we have nothing to be scared of.

"We shouldn't be scared of having that top four aim as an ambition. The squad looks really good and bigger and stronger than before."

New signing James Milner echoed Carew's sentiments and claimed: "Sunday proves we can live with the top four. Of course it does.

"We want to keep improving - and improving means forcing our way into the top four - and you could see Liverpool were happy with a nil nil score-line.

"That proves how much Villa have moved on in the last couple of years and hopefully we will keep progressing."

While Villa have plenty of attacking potential, Carew believes the defence could be the key to their ultimate success.

They managed to keep their first clean sheet of the season against the Reds after letting in five goals during the previous two league games with Manchester City and Stoke.

Carew added: "It is important that we score goals but almost more important that we keep clean sheets. That will give us a lot of points if we manage to keep clean sheets quite often.

"The chance of winning matches is so big if you manage to keep clean sheets. That creates a lot of points in the long term."

Rafael Benitez is waiting anxiously for the outcome of the scan on Fernando Torres' first half hamstring injury but took consolation from the performance of his replacement in David Ngog.

And he believes Ngog could work up a good partnership with Robbie Keane.

The Liverpool boss said: "I thought David started really well. He was trying to do clever movements and we know he is a player with quality.

"He is a different kind of player. He is a player who can keep the ball. He is another different player to Torres and could be good for Robbie as well."

Benitez was also relieved to be able to call on Lucas and Javier Mascherano after their exertions for Brazil and Argentina receptively during the Olympics.

He said: "Mascherano and Lucas they are fantastic players with a very good mentality after the Olympic Games. It is a very good thing for us to have them available."