DJ set for Aston Villa

Aston Villa are emerging as the favourites to land Blackpool's DJ Campbell for a cut-price £1.25million.

Alex McLeish has been handed a transfer kitty of £35m and is ready to compete with Sunderland for Manchester United defender Wes Brown as well as fighting Liverpool for Blackpool playmaker Charlie Adam. But the new Villa boss has identified a few cheaper targets, including striker Campbell.Campbell started his career at Aston Villa as a trainee, but was not offered a professional contract.

The 29 year old has told Blackpool manager Ian Holloway that he wants to leave the club this summer should a Premier League club bid for him, and it has been rumoured that DJ has a release clause in his contract that would let him leave Bloomfield Road for less than £2 million.The player had previously been linked with a move to Fulham, but this has been denied by the London club, with a source close to Martin Jol allegedly saying that the Dutch manager was 'embarrassed' to be linked with DJ.

Blackpool's DJ ready to rock the "Theatre of Dreams"

Blackpool striker DJ Campbell insists he has no fears ahead of the crucial meeting with Manchester United on Sunday at Old Trafford.
The hosts have clinched the Barclays Premier League title on the back of a staggering record at the stadium - dropping only two points all season. However Campbell, who took his season's goal tally to 13 in the victory against Bolton, is up for the fight.

He said: "I am sure a few of the lads will be nervous, they are only human. But I have been fairly calm throughout the season, which has stood me in good stead. Hopefully I will be able to nick a goal or two on Sunday and we will be able to do the business as a team. Fingers crossed we can."

He added: "The lads will be doing their utmost to get a win. If not, we want at least a point. We will be giving it all we have got to try and stay in this league.

"It is going to be hard, no matter what team they put out. They have not lost at home all season. If it is the second team or the third team, they are all internationals."

Even though Blackpool are in the relegation zone Campbell says people should be proud of the football they have played and applaud the work of manager Ian Holloway.

He said: "It is almost the same team that was playing last season and they were favourites to get relegated (from the Championship).

"When you put it into that perspective what we have done, at this level, against world-class players, we have over-achieved massively.

"I say to the boys all the time, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

"We have done our best. Hopefully we have proved a lot of people wrong and that we can do perform at this level."

Blackpool 3 Spurs 1

Brett Ormerod scored a landmark goal as Blackpool ended their six match winless run in emphatic style over Champions League contenders Spurs.The veteran striker sealed victory for the Seasiders following first half goals from Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell, meaning he has scored for the club in all four divisions of English football.Roman Pavlyuchenko pulled a goal back for the visitors deep into injury time, but it was too little too late in a game that will go down in Bloomfield Road folklore.Every man in tangerine played their heart out and demonstrated 'relegation' isn't a word in their vocabulary.Spurs were half the side that swept away AC Milan at the San Siro last week and were luckless in front of goal after amassing a colossal 25 goal attempts.
Ian Holloway handed Belarussian striker Sergei Kornilenko his debut following his transfer deadline day move from Zenit St Petersburg, whilst Ludovic Sylvestre replaced the injured Elliott Grandin in midfield.
The game’s opening was rather subdued until Sebastian Bassong bundled over DJ Campbell in the box on the quarter hour mark with referee Chris Foy immediately pointing to the spot.The ever reliable Charlie Adam stepped up to clinically dispatch the penalty past the outstretched hand of Heurelho Gomes to give the home side the lead.
Spurs responded when Steven Pienaar had a close-range effort blocked by Craig Cathcart, with Adam’s resulting clearance ricocheting back off the former South African and flashing inches wide of the post.
Cathcart showed his defensive quality once again when he heroically headed Jermaine Defoe’s effort off the line before Alex Baptiste cleared another effort from the England international moments later.In typical fashion, Blackpool seized upon their opponents vulnerability on the counter attack to score a classic breakaway goal on the stroke of half time.Excellent interplay between Pool’s attacking trio resulted in James Beattie crossing for DJ Campbell to volley home and double the home side’s advantage.
Jermaine Jenas replaced Wilson Palacios for the visitors at the break and immediately spurned a golden chance to respond when he dragged Pavlyuchenko’s inviting cross wide.Aaron Lennon was proving a constant menace down the right wing and crossed for Pavlyuchenko whose header drew a tremendous reaction save from Kingson.Spurs were inflicting constant waves of pressure on the Blackpool backline with every player in tangerine pinned back in their own half.Defoe crossed for substitute Nico Krancjar who failed to convert from a tight angle before Kingson pulled off another miraculous save to deny another Pavlyuchenko header.Modric chipped over the onrushing Kingson but his effort lacked pace and Baptiste cleared off the line once more as Spurs were left frustrated in their efforts.
Matt Phillips and Brett Ormerod were introduced on the hour mark and both combined to score the vital third.Phillips charged into the box before a defensive mix-up between Assou-Ekotto and Gomes allowed Ormerod to slip the ball into an unguarded net.The Bloomfield Road faithful were in full voice right up until the final whistle with Pavlyuchenko's deflected effort proving a mere consolation.
Looking back on a memorable night, an exuberant Ian Holloway said: “There’s not a word in the dictionary to say how pleased I am.“I don’t think we got we deserved here against Manchester City or Manchester United."We needed it, we've probably had one of the best nights I can ever remember, beating Tottenham Hotspur here."It was a fantastic night for everyone connected to the club. Does that make us better than AC Milan? I don’t really think so!"The gaps my lads are bridging in this level from where we were/should be is phenomenal.Unfortunately 32 points would have kept us off last season, and we know we’re going to need a fair few more than that.”

This could be the turning point for Blackpool, who have opened up a five point gap between themselves and the drop-zone.A tough trip to Wolves awaits on Saturday in what will be a crucial relegation six-pointer.