Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill says he'll speak with travelling fans about his reserve-team line-up for tonight's UEFA Cup clash CSKA Moscow.

"We've about 300 travelling fans who have spent very good money in coming to support us," O'Neill said.

"I don't know their viewpoint, but I'd like to find out and I hope we will find out because it's those people I've thought about, having spent their money.

"Other football clubs flout these things, and they get a bit of criticism for a minute or two, it seems as if it (resting players) is sacrilegious.

"This is the first time we've done it and it (the criticism) seems to be lasting forever, yet we've gone as strongly as we can every single time before.

"I've played by the rulebook, such as in FA Cup matches this season with Gillingham and Doncaster.

"For me, this competition is important. Perhaps if we were further down the line, if this was a quarter-final here tomorrow, it might be a different issue.

"But who is to say the players in the side tomorrow won't be able to turn this around?

"We have a real fighting chance of doing it and that would be fantastic for us. That would maybe placate those travelling fans.

"But if you had given them the opportunity to press on to get into the Champions League, with the squad we possess at the moment, they would say, 'You do what you think is the right thing for the club'.

"That's what I'm doing. Whether in time it proves to be correct is in the lap of the gods."