Steve Sidwell admits manager Martin O'Neill's dismissal against Atlante inspired Aston Villa to victory in their Peace Cup clash.

"I think the manager's sending off probably had a motivating effect," he said.

"We came in at half-time and he dug a few of us out, so we went out second-half and as a team we performed much better. It was just one of those things with the gaffer. As you can tell he's an eccentric man."

Sidwell could understand O'Neill's furious reaction to Atlante's gamesmanship, but praised the players for maintaining their composure.

"It was getting a bit tedious," he told the Birmingham Mail. "You know the Mexican players, as they are, they go down and it's just one of those things you've got to deal with. It can get a bit too much sometimes, but we stuck together and pulled it out.

"Individually and as a team you've got to be above that and you've got to dig it back the right way and we did that."