Fulham, defeated only once in eight games, survived for a point at Villa Park yet celebrated as if they had held a Champions League side. That is a compliment and a challenge to Aston Villa. Perceptions are changing.

Victory over Arsenal and a deserved draw with Manchester United have marked down Martin O’Neill’s team as genuine contenders for a top-four place but, even if they followed up those achievements with their traditional failure to break down more mundane opponents, expectations have altered.

Curtis Davies, after helping to keep the home side’s third consecutive clean sheet, spoke of the “disappointment in the dressing-room because it is no use getting the results against the big teams and then not getting the results you should get against the Fulhams.”

Danny Murphy, the Fulham captain, was not insulted and offered an insight into Villa’s chances of displacing Arsenal, emphasising how much they missed John Carew, sidelined with a back injury. “Villa are knocking on the door of the top four,” he said. “They are the next best, that’s for sure. A lot depends on Arsenal’s form and a big factor is whether they can keep their best players fit. Carew always gives you a great option.”

So would it be good for the game if Villa broke up the elite’s oligarchy? Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, said: “I hope the top four places will be decided on merit. If you ask me have Aston Villa got enough merits to get in amongst those . . . I’d have to say they have. Martin’s put together a team that’s capable of competing. But he’s in there with some tough cookies. If they do it, I’ll be happy to send him a telegram.”

Gareth Barry, playing in an advanced midfield position, mustered Villa’s first effort on target when his header was fumbled on to the crossbar by Mark Schwarzer 19 minutes from time.

Murphy urged Villa to break the bank to keep Barry, although a top-four finish would be a greater incentive for the England midfield player to stay put.

Aston Villa (4-5-1): B Friedel 7 — C Cuéllar 5, C Davies 6, M Laursen 7, L Young 6 — J Milner 6, S Sidwell 5, S Petrov 5, G Barry 6, A Young 5 — G Agbonlahor 6. Substitutes not used: B Guzan, M Harewood, N Delfouneso, Z Knight, M Salifou, N Shorey, C Gardner. Next: Everton (a).

Fulham (4-4-2): M Schwarzer 5 — J Paintsil 4, A Hughes 6, B Hangeland 6, P Konchesky 5 — C Dempsey 6, J Bullard 6, D Murphy 5, S Davies 6 — A Johnson 6, R Zamora 5 (sub: Z Gera, 85min). Substitutes not used: P Zuberbühler, E Nevland, J Gray, D Etuhu, F Stoor, T Kallio. Booked: Dempsey, Paintsil. Next: Manchester City (h).

Referee: M Jones Attendance: 36,625