Aston Villa's players insist home is still where the heart is and claim their worrying Villa Park record is not playing on their minds.

It has been 10 weeks since Alex McLeish’s men last won in front of their own supporters against Norwich on November 5.

And the claret and blue faithful have been increasingly edgy in recent weeks after five games without a Villa Park victory.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Everton ended a run of four straight home defeats.

Villa have lost five times in total on their own territory in the Premier League this season with three wins and three draws, gathering 12 points from a possible 33.

Remarkably, they have a slightly better points ratio away from home with 12 from 30, having won two, drawn six and lost two of their 10 games on the road.

But goalkeeper Shay Given, an experienced voice in the Villa dressing room, insists the team do not have a mental block about playing at Villa Park.

Asked if there is a nervousness about the claret and blues in front of their home crowd after their recent run of results, Given replied: “I don’t think so.

“I have been out a few weeks, but it is a great place to play football.

“Personally I was really looking forward to the game.

“It was brilliant to play in front of the crowd again and I think the players should look at it that way.”

Given paid tribute to the Villa Park crowd and insisted Villa’s players should be inspired rather than intimidated by their own fans.

The No.1 cited the atmosphere during the December defeat to Arsenal as evidence of the togetherness of the supporters and the team.