The mood at Villa Park has been transformed in the past week following the £24million signing of Darren Bent from Sunderland.
Bent sparked the resurgence with a debut strike in Saturday's uplifting Barclays Premier League win at Manchester City and Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young followed up with the winning goals at Wigan last night.
The 2-1 victory, completed after withstanding a late Wigan fightback in which James McCarthy struck, lifted Houllier's men six points clear of the relegation zone.
Houllier said: "The Manchester City game was very important psychologically for us, for many reasons.
"But we have got to stay focused and keep working, we don't take anything for granted in this league. Any team can beat any team. All I know is we are physically fitter and stronger and mentally stronger as well."
Source: PA
Source: PA