Aston Villa issued blunt Europa Conference League demand as pundit provides Ajax verdict

Owen Hargreaves is backing Aston Villa to 'finish the job' at Villa Park next week after their 0-0 draw with Ajax in the Europa Conference League. Unai Emery's side were reduced to 10-men in the Netherlands as Ezri Konsa picked up a second yellow card late on, but they had enough about them to secure a goalless draw at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

That sets next week's second leg up perfectly with Villa welcoming the Dutch giants to Birmingham, where their form has been nothing short of outstanding for much of the campaign. That will be played next Thursday, with Sunday's visit of Tottenham Hotspur coming first and Hargreaves believes Villa have every right to approach it with confidence.

"I think you have to credit Ajax," the former Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Manchester City midfielder told TNT Sports. "I think they played pretty well, the atmosphere was fantastic, there wasn't a tonne of goal scoring chances from either side, it was a bit cagey. I think for Villa it's all to play for.

"They'll take it back home and they'll probably finish the job. They didn't play great tonight but they didn't really need to, they just didn't need to lose it here. We've seen them play a lot better than that but I think even though they can play better they won't be too concerned about today's performance because they'll take it back home where they're brilliant and finish the job.

"[Ajax] celebrated just keeping a clean sheet which they have rarely done all season and for this young team that almost felt like a win for Ajax. Go back home, Villa, and finish the job.

"Also, no matter your form, you're fourth in the Premier League, it's hard to go away in Europe and win games. You've seen with Brighton today, it's tough. I think coming here, not losing the game and taking it back home. This Ajax team played way better than they have pretty much all season."