Barry refuses to discuss his future

Captain Gareth Barry refused to talk about his future – but feels Villa will continue to improve next season.

Barry, who scored Villa’s second goal in yesterday’s 2-2 draw at West Ham, is wanted by Liverpool and Arsenal who can both offer Champions League football.

The skipper was, however, delighted to help secure European football for the first time since 2001-02 as Villa qualified for the Intertoto Cup.

Fans will have to wait to see if they can keep their skipper with boss Martin O’Neill due to meet ownder Randy Lerner this week to thrash out a strategy to try to persuade him to stay.

“Hopefully we can do the business in the Intertoto Cup and get ourselves back where we belong,” said Barry.

“It was always the aim to get that European spot – whether it be through the Intertoto or not.

“We could have finished as low as eighth if results had gone against us but we put the effort in and we deserved at least that sixth spot.

“We keep continuing to improve and I’m sure next year, with the help of new players, it will be another push.” Barry was delighted to be part of Villa’s freescoring side which put them third behind Manchester United and Arsenal.

“We scored 71 goals in the league this season and that’s a great total – challenging the teams at the top of the table,” said the nine-goal midfielder.

“We scored the most away goals and that shows the sort of football we’ve played this season. That’s why the fans turned up in their numbers all year.

“Yesterday was all about the style of football we’ve tried to play all season. In the second-half especially we could have scored five or six. Their keeper made some good saves and we went close on a number of occasions.

“Everybody’s gone home happy and the fans are pleased with the way we’ve gone about our business this season.”

Barry was disappointed Villa missed out on the UEFA Cup but even if they had beat West Ham, they couldn’t have caught Everton, who beat Newcastle to claim fifth spot.

“It was an interesting game. There’s always twists and turns on the last day of the season and that’s the way it was,” said Barry. “You’re sort of playing with half an eye on other results.

“But we got the draw and that was enough to see us into the Intertoto Cup. That’s European football and that was always the aim.”

Barry also praised team-mate Olof Mellberg, who bought 3,200 shirts for Villa fans with his number saying ‘Thanks for your support’.

“It was a great gesture and the fans appreciated it,” he said. “They sang his name throughout the 90 minutes.”

Juventus-bound Mellberg revealed he thought of the idea to give out the shirts.

“It was my idea because it’s unusual for a player to know so far in advance where you’re going to be playing next season,” he said.

“A lot of people have asked me for a shirt since I signed so I thought it would be a good idea for the home game, but it would have a little bit too much to buy 42,000! It was nice for the away fans because they have really supported us throughout the years and this season they have been fantastic as well.”