As a man who conforms to most of the Swedish stereotypes, Olof Mellberg is not given to hyperbole. So when he of all people suggests that Aston Villa are entering a make-or-break Easter period it is time to sit up and take notice.

The defender is baffled at the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the team - why can't Villa play well for the full 90 minutes? - and baffled at a run that has garnered only two victories from 20 matches since November 11.

Villa performed splendidly in the second half against visitors Everton last Monday, and deserved more than a 1-1 draw, but that only served to heighten the mystery, given that they performed so appallingly in the first half.

Still, if Villa defeat Blackburn Rovers away tomorrow and Wigan Athletic at home on Monday, talk of relegation will ebb away.

"Is Easter make or break for Villa?

Definitely," Mell-berg said. "We have a busy period. We have some winnable games, all of the last seven games, so hopefully we can pick up enough points straight away to be safe.

"But we need to play well for 90 minutes to win games. It is not enough to have a poor first 45 minutes and play well for the second half. We need to be more consistent within the games. That is definitely something to think about, to try to start a little bit better in the following games.

"It is not only the Everton game. There have been a lot of games. Performance-wise you don't think you've had such a bad run. It's been a strange second half of the season as well.

"In periods we've played a lot of games like at Christmas and then had huge breaks. It has been a strange season. We have put in quite a lot of good performances, including away, and haven't really come away with anything.

"We have to try to raise the level a bit over 90 minutes and hopefully get a good run to the end of the season. We have some winnable games and we have to keep going."

The match against Everton is still fresh in the memory and, in one sense, said everything about the Villa of 2006-07.

"It was a much-improved second half and we got a well-deserved goal in the end," Mellberg said. "We need to pick up points and every point counts but we were looking at the three before the game.

"We were much more in control and kept better possession in the second half. That made it easier for us to push the team forward and put pressure on them and keep a higher line.

"We didn't have good possession in the first half. We kept losing the ball and it kept coming back to us.

"It is always disappointing when you have to chase games. It has happened to us quite a lot of times this season. We have gone a goal down where there hasn't been much in it.

"It is always difficult when you go behind against a strong side like Everton but we battled on and could have won it in the end as well. With those two [Shaun Maloney and Patrik Berger] coming on, we got a lot of possession of the ball and it was helpful."

Mellberg is out of contract with Villa at the end of next season and the matter is likely to be resolved at the end of this term.