Monday, July 28, 2008

Martin O'Neill In New Gareth Barry Jibe At Liverpool FC

Martin O’Neill has urged Gareth Barry to remain with Aston Villa and claimed the Midlands club wants him more than Liverpool.

Barry received a rapturous reception from the Villa faithful following his introduction as a 15th-minute substitute in the Intertoto Cup win over Odense.

The England midfielder responded with applause of his own as he turned in his usual measured performance after replacing stricken Dutchman Wilfred Bouma at left-back.

And with Liverpool still to come up with an offer approaching the £18million Villa are demanding, O’Neill, who banned Barry from the training ground after his newspaper sideswipe at the Ulsterman, is hoping his star man will stay.

“Having not heard anything from Liverpool for some time it is clear we value him more than they do,” said O’Neill.

“The fact they have not answered us for a week sends out a real message.

“We obviously don’t want him to go, so the price we are asking is a fair and realistic one for a player who is so good. In fact I think it is really cheap.

“My own view is that he should hang around for another year and see if we can make further progress as he would want.

“Gareth is still only 28 next year – if we don’t get where he wants to go, everybody would wish him well.”

O'Neill could not have asked any more of the Villa fans, who jeered Barry during a midweek outing at nearby Walsall.

There was not the merest hint of dissent this time as the cheers began as the player waited to make his entrance.

The reception, as well as a win which takes Villa into the UEFA Cup second qualifying round, provides the perfect platform for Barry to revise his opinion, which is what O’Neill desperately hopes for.

“He has been with us for 10 years and the crowd reaction was really strong in his favour,” said O’Neill.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt about what we all want at Villa Park. We want him to stay at the club.

“I am not in the habit of encouraging players to talk to me after games but I told Gareth he had been terrific.

“You could see, with hardly any training, how brilliant he was.

“We need him at this club. He would be a terrific loss for us.”

Meanwhile John Carew believes it is a 50-50 bet that Barry remains with Aston Villa.

The striker said: “We all hope Gareth stays because he is such an amazing player and I definitely do because I really enjoy playing with him.

“The fans certainly could not have done any more.”

Carew shares the manager’s view that Barry should stay a further year to see how far the club progresses.

“Gareth is a good professional and a great player,” said Carew.

“He can handle any situation and I am happy to see him playing again.

“The reception he received did not surprise me but I know he can adapt to any situation.

“We have all been in the game for a long time, so we don’t waste too much energy thinking about whether the crowd is being positive or negative.

“He will just go out there and do his job in exactly the same way as he always does and we will just wait to see what happens.”

Ashley Young used his lightning pace to score the goal that ease Aston Villa through 3-2 on aggregate.

By the time Villa learn their opponents in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round, Barry’s future should be slightly clearer.

“I have always said Gareth is a true professional,” said Young.

“He is always going to do his job in a professional way and that is what he has done.

“What is happening is between Gareth and the club. It has nothing to do with me. But he was always going to get a good reception from the fans. He has done well for the club. It was nice to see that being recognized.”

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