Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is proud of reaching the Carling Cup semifinals.

Villa have reached the semi-finals of the Carling Cup and are just three points off third-placed Tottenham.

O'Neill said: "To have a semi-final to look forward to is brilliant.

"But our immediate run between now and January is really difficult.

"I'm not sure if it's completely season defining but it is certainly very important.

"It might have been a good time to play Hull a few weeks ago, though not now. It's up to us to try and win the game and play better than the second half against Tottenham last week."