Olof Mellberg has pledged to see out the remainder of his contract with Aston Villa and help them push for Europe - even if his long-term future may be away from the midlands club.

The Sweden defender has been linked with a move to Juventus although he strongly denies he has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Italian giants.

Mellberg, whose current Villa deal ends next summer, is expecting to hold talks with manager Martin O'Neill after the hectic festive season after putting negotiations on ice for a spell.

But, whatever the outcome of those negotiations, the defender is determined to help Villa push for a European spot during the second half of the campaign.

Mellberg, who helped Villa draw 1-1 with Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday, said: "There are not really any developments. We haven't talked for some time now.

"The manager and myself said a few months ago that we would put it all on hold but I am sure we will talk to each other now after this busy period.

"Is the length of contract the stumbling block? Not really. I spoke to the manager and wanted to put it on hold for a while. But it was nothing to do with any terms in the contract - money-wise or length-wise. We never got that far.

"I am sure we will talk a bit about the future and about everything after this busy period."

Mellberg, who has been operating as a makeshift right-back, added: "Would I like to stay at Villa? That is still an option but I am focusing on my performances and what I've got to do now.

"It is definitely not true that I have signed a pre-contract with Juventus. My focus is to stay here for this season.

"Whatever happens, it will be really nice to have a good season. We have a good chance to finish high up the table and maybe qualify for Europe.

"Whatever happens, it would be great for me to achieve that and I am definitely looking to finish the season."

Villa came from behind to earn a deserved point against Sven-Goran Eriksson's side thanks to the impressive John Carew's fourth goal of the season.

But Mellberg believes they have to show more of the killer instinct in the final third of the pitch after collecting only two points from the last 12.

He said: "We haven't killed matches off. That has been the case over the last few weeks. We haven't won for quite some time now. We are playing fairly well in most of the games.

"We are in one of those spells at the moment and hopefully we can score a few goals and get out of this as soon as possible.

"We have teams down and are dominating the games and really putting pressure on teams and playing well probably up until the last third when we are struggling to create those really big chances."

City picked up a rare away point thanks to Rolando Bianchi's third goal in the last three league games but he believes there is still more to come from him.

He said: "I was happy for that goal at Villa but I can play more better. With my team-mates, I can score a lot because they play for me and they put me in the best condition for scoring goals.

"I am now playing a lot of games and, for me, that is important for my confidence. If I play, I can score because I have chances to score.

"It is also important to pick up points away from home if we are to qualify for Europe. At this time of the season, we have a lot of games and, if we collect points away, it is very important for the future."

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