Villa have gone 17 matches since they last shut out the opposition in a 4-0 win at Blackburn Rovers in late November.

They have become prone to conceding sloppy goals - as was highlighted again in the defensive mix-up which led to Sunderland striker Michael Chopra's winner at Villa Park at the weekend.

O'Neill wants his side to play entertaining and attacking football but knows it is equally important to be resilient at the back.

He said: "I think we should be able to defend better. We have scored goals which sometimes overlooks the fact we haven't kept clean sheets.

"I didn't need to be told we hadn't kept a clean sheet for a long time. I was well aware of it and it is important."

Villa travel to Old Trafford on Saturday to take on Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League.