Nigel Reo-Coker has played down Villa’s chances of reaching the top four next season after warning there is no “quick fix” to force their way in.
It emerged this week that Villa skipper Gareth Barry told boss Martin O’Neill he wants to go to Liverpool to fulfil his Champions League ambitions - something which only a top four finish can bring.
And Reo-Coker, who formed a formidable midfield partnership with Barry at Villa Park last season, admits it will take them time to catch up with more established teams like the Reds, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
“For any team not in the top four, it’s a building process,” he said.
“You’re not going to get the guaranteed quick fix to get into the top four.
“The top four teams have been doing it for years, they have been spending serious money for years on wages and transfer fees.
“And it takes time. Any club has to eventually build up to that process.”Barry’s seemingly inevitable departure would make him the sixth player to depart this summer, piling O’Neill under fresh pressure to act in the transfer market.
Despite their first game of this season, the Intertoto Cup first leg, being just five weeks away he is yet to make a signing this summer and supporters are growing increasingly restless at the club’s failure to fork out for star names.
However, former West Ham man Reo-Coker insists fans need only look at the progress made in O’Neill’s two seasons in charge - they have gone from 16th to 11th to sixth - for confirmation they are on upward spiral.
“I?ve only been here for a year but look at what we?ve done. It’s been a consistent season for us and we can’t complain,” he added.
“Look at Everton. All credit to David Moyes, but how long has he been building there? A very long time.
“You look at where we are now and what we could do, we have to have realistic and it has been a good season.”
2 Comments
I have just read somewhere that Barry is now doing a bit of back-tracking and “I want to join Liverpool” has now become “if the club agrees a fee for me to move to Liverpool, the opportunity to play Champions League football is something I would have to consider very carefully”. Could it be that our Gareth is having second thoughts? Perhaps he has been looking at the LFC message boards and seen that the majority of Liverpool fans don’t want him?
Interesting to say the least, with Villa playing hardball over the fee and Liverpool having to sell before they can buy, it would appear that this saga is far from over yet.
Who would want to join a rubbish club like Villa except cast offs from other rubbish clubs like West Ham eh Nigel???