Makes impressio on Villa manager

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has praised Cristiano Ronaldo for emulating David Beckham in dealing with being public enemy No 1 amongst fans in a positive manner ahead of Sunday's FA Cup clash with Manchester United.

Beckham had a spell of being reviled by supporters after his sending-off when on World Cup duty for England against Argentina during the 1998 finals but gradually won his critics over.
Ronaldo has also been the victim of the boo-boys after the part he played in Wayne Rooney's dismissal during the World Cup quarter-final between England and Portugal in Germany last summer.

But he has also responded in an upbeat way with a series of superb performances to make himself a leading contender with Chelsea striker Didier Drogba for the PFA Footballer Of The Year award.

Ronaldo tormented Villa in United's 3-0 away win a fortnight ago, scoring twice, and continued in the same rich vein of form during the festive period. O'Neill said: "If there is a comparison to be drawn between Ronaldo and Beckham, in the way they have responded to adverse criticism, that's fine. I don't necessarily look at it like that. But I think that Ronaldo's response, if it is a response to what happened in Portugal, has been fantastic."

"If it's just him maturing more quickly as a player, then it's just amazing. But what happened in the World Cup could affect people. It hasn't seen to have bothered him.I wouldn't know him well enough to know whether it inspired him or whatever but it has not bothered him."

O'Neill believes Ronaldo has found the right balance between being a crowd pleaser and doing effective job for Sir Alex Ferguson's side. The Villa chief said: "Ronaldo came to Manchester United a couple of season ago with raw talent and people talked about his ability to play the final ball, of him being rather superfluous and not seeing things. If his performance against us was anything to go by, he can still do the occasional trick that goes wrong, but he instantly forgets about it and gets onto the next thing."

"He gets onto the next thing. It wouldn't prevent him from doing another little trick but, in essence, Ronaldo is not only a crowd pleaser but a brilliant player. They are different things. You can be a crowd pleaser and drve your manager insane. Great players can combine both and that's why he is a great player."

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