ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Stuart Jamessays the Aston Villa midfielder is struggling to come to terms with the reality of his situation

GARETH BARRY has spent all summer hoping he would get the opportunity to perform in front of Rafael Benitez before the end of the transfer window but wearing claret and blue was not what the England international had in mind. Liverpool visit Villa Park tomorrow in a fixture that ought to begin with the former Bullseye host Jim Bowen looking in Barry's direction and trotting out his famous catchphrase, "Let's have a look at what you could have won".

Barry spoke for the first time yesterday about the collapse of his move to Liverpool, choosing his words carefully as he looked ahead to what promises to be an awkward occasion. He insisted he would be "giving 100 per cent for Villa" and claimed there was no ill-feeling towards Martin O'Neill, despite their fallout earlier in the summer. He also dropped into the conversation that "it has been decided I will stay at Villa". No one, of course, suspected that Barry had made the decision himself.

O'Neill's refusal to accept less than his €22.3 million asking price, coupled with doubts among Liverpool's owners that Barry was worth such a fee, have left Villa's longest-serving player with little option but to accept the next four months, and more likely the remainder of the season, will be spent in the Midlands. It is a victory of sorts for O'Neill, and one that has been celebrated inside the Villa dressing room, with the defender Curtis Davies underlining Barry's importance to the club.

"If you lose your best player, it will make the squad look - even though we are not - pretty average without Gareth, if I'm honest," he admitted, and said he was "totally relieved" to hear the midfielder would not be leaving this summer.

"For him to stay has given us a massive boost, even if it is just for the rest of this season. Having Gareth for another year is going to hopefully help this club push on to the next level."

Progress would mean taking part in the Champions League, something that Barry had claimed was central to his desire to move to Anfield. There had been no shortage of encouragement from Liverpool about their interest in him and, with that in mind, it would be understandable if he felt let down over their failure to meet the asking price.

"That is what the football business is all about," added Barry. "I am contracted to Villa. They set a fee and it wasn't matched. Rules are rules."

Whether he can continue to adopt such a sanguine approach remains to be seen, particularly tomorrow when he will line up against the Liverpool players whom he imagined would be his team-mates. "It won't be strange at all," he said.

"I spoke to the manager and I've no problem giving 100 per cent for Aston Villa and that will be starting against Liverpool. It was a long summer. There was continuous speculation, but I feel I am strong mentally and I'll be fine with it now."

O'Neill refuses to accept he has "won", with the Villa manager admitting he has no idea what will happen in the future. "It's been going on for so long and it's something that we learned to cope with," said O'Neill, whose relationship with Benitez suffered as a result of Liverpool's initial pursuit. "It hasn't been to anyone's advantage. I am relieved he is still here because I was expecting Liverpool to come in and complete the deal."

As were the Villa supporters who booed Barry when he appeared in a pre-season friendly at Walsall last month, three weeks after he had been banned from the training ground and fined for giving an unauthorised interview. The latter was an expensive mistake in more ways than one, although Barry now feels his sharpness is returning. "I am getting back to my best," he said. "It wasn't the ideal pre-season for me so I guess the games are always the best thing."

That some of those matches are likely to be internationals should work in O'Neill's favour. Although Barry's performance at Stoke last weekend suggested he was struggling to come to terms with the realisation that he has missed out on the chance to join Liverpool, those close to the player insist he will not dwell on what might have been, and point to his determination to hold on to his England place as an added incentive to regain his best form at club level.

There will be other reasons to be motivated tomorrow, however. "I think Gareth will up his game even more," added Davies. "If he was on the verge of going to Liverpool and they didn't want to stump up the money for him, I'm sure he would like to prove what they're missing. Liverpool chose to spend their money elsewhere and their loss is our gain."

Guardian Service