George Burley felt each of his Ipswich players gave 100 per cent, despite slipping to a 2-1 defeat at Villa Park.

Finidi George put Town in the driving seat before two goals by Juan Pablo Angel turned the game on its head.

Blues boss Burley said: "I really felt we deserved to get something from the game.

"It was important for us to win but the fact we didn't wasn't down to lack of effort or determination.

"When you look at the game as a whole it's difficult to see how we lost. But that's football it has a habit of kicking you when you're down.

"We defended from the front and scored an excellent goal. I thought the forwards worked very hard to put pressure on Villa.

"But then conceding an equaliser just before half-time when we should have cleared a corner properly gave them a lift.

"Overall, though, I thought we worked hard and closed them down."

Burley added: "There were a lot of disappointed faces in the dressing room but all I can do as manager is try and keep the players' heads up and tell them to keep believing."

Villa midfielder Paul Merson said: "Ipswich are in a bad position but there's still a long way to go and I really hope they survive.

Published Tuesday December 18, 2001