Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is taking his squad to London three days before the Carling Cup final clash with Manchester United.

Villa is desperate to win his third Carling Cup after notching up two with Leicester City (1997 & 2000) and wants to bunk his players down for three nights to prepare for the Wembley Stadium finale.

O'Neill had his players stay in a Birmingham hotel for two nights prior to the semi-final win over Blackburn at Villa Park and is planning to get the team to London on Thursday ahead of Sunday's match.