Martin O'Neill will not place Gareth Barry under any pressure to make a decision on his future at the end of the season, but the Aston Villa manager has sown a couple of seeds of doubt in the midfielder's mind ahead of what could prove to be his last game for the club against Newcastle United on Sunday.
With Rafael BenÃtez set to resurrect his interest in the player this summer, O'Neill claimed that, had he been in Barry's position last year, he would have felt "hurt" that the Liverpool manager had been unable to raise £18m to meet Villa's asking price yet later paid £20m for Robbie Keane. O'Neill also suggested that the 28-year-old's hopes of retaining his place in the England side would be enhanced through the guarantee of regular first-team football at Villa Park.
"People have said before that we 'beat' Liverpool but that wasn't the case," said O'Neill, reflecting on Villa's resistance to Liverpool's attempts to sign Barry 12 months ago. "If they had come up with the deal and met our price then I assume it would have gone through. One of the disappointing aspects for Gareth was that Liverpool were claiming they could only afford this certain [amount] of money and then spent £20m on Robbie Keane almost overnight."
Asked if that course of events upset Barry, O'Neill replied: "I'm sure if I was a player I would have been [hurt]. If someone had told me they were coming for me and the next thing they're saying they don't have it and then they go and buy someone else for £20m within a day or two, that would be a different issue."
The Villa manager is aware of just how badly Barry wants to play Champions League football, but he also believes that the former Brighton trainee, who has 12 months remaining on his contract, will give serious consideration to the impact any move would have on his England career when he makes a decision after the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra next month.
"There is no rush," said O'Neill. "Gareth has got things to ponder and consider. Obviously his own thoughts, not mine, could be more concerned about his England position and obviously that's something that he is considering. He wants Champions League football. The thing to consider is that we would rotate less than other teams and Gareth is one who thrives on playing most weeks."
With Rafael BenÃtez set to resurrect his interest in the player this summer, O'Neill claimed that, had he been in Barry's position last year, he would have felt "hurt" that the Liverpool manager had been unable to raise £18m to meet Villa's asking price yet later paid £20m for Robbie Keane. O'Neill also suggested that the 28-year-old's hopes of retaining his place in the England side would be enhanced through the guarantee of regular first-team football at Villa Park.
"People have said before that we 'beat' Liverpool but that wasn't the case," said O'Neill, reflecting on Villa's resistance to Liverpool's attempts to sign Barry 12 months ago. "If they had come up with the deal and met our price then I assume it would have gone through. One of the disappointing aspects for Gareth was that Liverpool were claiming they could only afford this certain [amount] of money and then spent £20m on Robbie Keane almost overnight."
Asked if that course of events upset Barry, O'Neill replied: "I'm sure if I was a player I would have been [hurt]. If someone had told me they were coming for me and the next thing they're saying they don't have it and then they go and buy someone else for £20m within a day or two, that would be a different issue."
The Villa manager is aware of just how badly Barry wants to play Champions League football, but he also believes that the former Brighton trainee, who has 12 months remaining on his contract, will give serious consideration to the impact any move would have on his England career when he makes a decision after the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra next month.
"There is no rush," said O'Neill. "Gareth has got things to ponder and consider. Obviously his own thoughts, not mine, could be more concerned about his England position and obviously that's something that he is considering. He wants Champions League football. The thing to consider is that we would rotate less than other teams and Gareth is one who thrives on playing most weeks."
