Martin Jol admitted he wound up his Hamburg players for their UEFA Cup victory over Aston Villa by accusing his opponents of being arrogant in fielding a weakened side.

Jol made it clear he does not believe Martin O'Neill was guilty of such an offence, but still took the opportunity upon seeing the Villa line-up to use it as a weapon to motivate his team.

Villa fielded only three of the side which had been in action against Bolton in the Premier League at the weekend in Luke Young, Carlos Cuellar and Steve Sidwell.

They had already guaranteed their place in the final 32 but a 3-1 reversal to their German opponents meant they finished third in their section and now have to play one of the group winners when the competition reverts to a knockout basis in February.

Jol said: "We are very satisfied. It was a great win. In the first half we had quite a bit of space. The second half was a bit tighter, more like an English game, but a 3-1 win, you can't complain at that. We are very happy with the result.

"Did Villa take the game seriously enough? It is their responsibility. For us it is better because if they play Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Martin Laursen, James Milner and Gareth Barry, maybe it would have been different.

"We were happy even before the game when we saw the line-up. It motivated the players because, although it is not true, you can tell the players they are maybe a bit arrogant. You use everything to your advantage and say to them, 'They have watched us four times and so maybe think we are not that good', and that helps. You could see my players wanted to win this game."

Nevertheless, Jol believes Villa can challenge strongly to win the competition if they field their first-choice side. He said: "Villa are strong enough to go all the way. If all the players are there, it doesn't matter if Villa play number one or number three in the group in the latter stages."

O'Neill was just pleased to be in the hat for tomorrow's draw and took positives from the likes of 17-year-old striker Nathan Delfouneso, who scored for the second successive game in the UEFA Cup.
He said: "I was very pleased with some of the younger players - Nathan Delfouneso, especially in the second half, did really well.

"If you finish first or second in the group, you get your home game for the second leg in the final 32 but it concerns me less than when I first thought about it.

"Who knows what might happen in February? Who knows what players will be available to me at the time? I just don't know. But a full-strength Villa side would be much better than this evening."

One player missing for the first leg when Villa return to action in the competition in February will be midfielder Sidwell who was sent off after two bookable offences. But O'Neill admitted the impact of being without the former Chelsea player was not something that will be on his radar for some considerable time.

He said: "It can't be helped. It has happened. But the next round is late in February and, from where I am sitting, that is a long time away. I am hoping I am still in charge at that time!"