ASTON VILLA manager Martin O’Neill hit out at England after his side’s 3-1 defeat to Everton in the FA Cup fifth round yesterday.

O’Neill maintained that the injury to striker Emile Heskey, that kept him out of the tie at Goodison Park, was a genuine handicap to his side’s hopes of getting to the quarter-finals.

Villa were already without suspended captain Gareth Barry, but Heskey’s involvement in England’s friendly with Spain on Wednesday angered their manager.

O’Neill said: “Gareth Barry being suspended was our fault, our problem. Being without Heskey is not our fault.

“He should not have played on Wednesday for England because he had an existing Achilles injury and made it worse.

“He had come off against Blackburn with the same injury, and he arrived with England with the injury. Of course Heskey wants to play for England, like every other player.

“But Luke Young was unable to play with an injured toe. He showed his face at the England camp and was sent home.

“The same should have happened to Heskey, I would have had a better chance of him playing in the cup tie if that had happened.

“And now Curtis Davies has a shoulder injury, it came out of place. With some manipulation it was put back and he wanted to continue to play.

“But I believe it is something that has happened before and we must have a good look at this problem now.

“I really don’t know whether Heskey or Davies will be fit for the UEFA Cup tie on Wednesday against CSKA Moscow.”

O’Neill also felt that Stiliyan Petrov was justified in not being shown a red card early in the game after he handled on the line.

Jack Rodwell followed up to give Everton the lead and O’Neill argued the goal was punishment enough for his team – and insisted they had been unfortunate to lose.

“All in all I think the attitude of the team this season has been fantastic,” said O’Neill. “I thought we were unlucky. I thought we had enough chances, particularly in the second half.

“We have created some chances in the game and, considering we are at Goodison Park in the fifth round of the FA Cup against a hostile crowd, I thought our efforts were terrific.”