Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill was a delighted to overcome a determined Gillingham outfit in the FA Cup.

James Milner scored both goals as Villa prevailed 2-1 against their impressive Coca-Cola League Two opponents, with Simeon Jackson bringing the home side level with a superbly-taken goal.

It means Villa will travel to either Cheltenham or Doncaster in the fourth round - only their second fourth-round appearance in the last eight seasons - but O'Neill was pleased just to be through.

He said: "Obviously, I'm delighted we've won the game.

"I thought it was a very difficult afternoon the whole way through. If the players didn't know beforehand they were in some game, after about 10 minutes they did.

"We got a great goal and it settled us down a wee bit but I never felt comfortable all afternoon. I thought that Gillingham were always in the game, they equalised and the game was in the balance."

After Milner's opener - which came following a good link-up with Stiliyan Petrov - the home side had their illustrious opponents on the rack, and O'Neill admitted he would have been satisfied with getting a replay after a tough examination from a young Gills side.

"It was a genuine FA Cup third-round tie," he added.

"I thought in the end we did fine to win it but it was really tough and before we got the penalty, I would have settled with going back to Villa Park.

"The crowd got right behind them and confidence was high within their camp.

"I've been involved in these games as a player and I think they're very difficult. I thought it was blood and thunder and I'm just delighted to have got through."