Gabriel Agbonlahor expects that the remainder of Aston Villa's season will be a "battle."
The Villans are seven points clear of the relegation zone, but with Robbie Keane returning to LA Galaxy and Darren Bent possibly out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury, the 25-year-old is anticipating a difficult last 12 matches.
"It is going to be one of those seasons where you battle your way through it," he said.
"We know it is going to be difficult because we have a lot of players out.
"But once we get to the end, we can start to look at next season in order to rebuild."
Some fans booed their team off on Saturday after the 0-0 draw at Wigan Athletic, but boyhood Villa fan Agbonlahor was not concerned.
He added: "It doesn't affect us.
"We can't really hear it anyway because we are concentrating on the game.
"The fans are sticking with us. The fact they turned out in such large numbers showed they are with the team."
Agbonlahor captained the side at the DW Stadium in the absence of Stiliyan Petrov and Richard Dunne, who were both injured.
Robert Summerscales
