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O'Neill in striker plea
Aston Villa, 16:56, March 8, 2010 ,
Martin O'Neill has told John Carew he needs to show the same hunger every week if he wants to keep his place in the Villa side.
Carew bagged a hat-trick as Villa booked their place in the FA Cup semi-final with a remarkable fight back at Reading on Sunday but that does not mean he is guaranteed a starting place next time out.
The Norwegian was only in the side after Gabriel Agbonlahor picked up a sickness bug on the morning of the game and although O'Neill was delighted with his performance, he wants to see that kind of desire more often.
"Gabriel Agbonlahor was poorly in the morning and had to go home, so John steps in and scores a second-half hat-trick which was absolutely delightful," O'Neill revealed.
"John at his hungriest can perform like that. He got the equaliser for us and his game lifted two or three-fold. Goals give him confidence and the next thing you know he is running the game. He can do that and I want him to perform like that more often.
"I would be delighted if he could score a hat-trick every week but first he needs to find a level of performance which is up there with the best strikers."