Villa’s Sidwell: I am no Barry

New Villa signing Steve Sidwell insists he is not a replacement for Gareth Barry as he completed his £5m move.

The 25-year-old former Arsenal and Reading man has signed a three-year deal and plans to get his career going forward again, after spending a year on the sidelines at Chelsea.

Sidwell already senses Villa fans will be making a direct comparison to Barry as their England international edges closer to his Liverpool move.

He said: “I think the first contact was made before the whole Gareth Barry thing came out, so I don’t think it’s right to say I’m the Gareth Barry replacement.

“I’d like to be judged on what I do for Aston Villa. I’m not here to replace anyone.

“Every player is an individual and I’ll bring qualities to the side that hopefully only I can do.

“My aim is to improve the side – not to replace Gareth Barry or anyone else.”

Sidwell added that his switch to Villa was in the face of rival offers from other Premier clubs - yet was guaranteed the moment manager Martin O’Neill sold him his vision for the future.

He said: “No disrespect to the other clubs – I’m not naming them but there was a lot of interest – but even before contact was made with Aston Villa this was the club I wanted to join.

“As soon as I sat down with the manager and he outlines his ambitions and where he wants to take the club, for me it was a no-brainer.

“I just wanted it to get done as quickly as possible. It dragged on a bit which was unfortunate but that’s football nowadays. It’s all paperwork.

“Now I’m over the moon and really excited.

“Martin O’Neill really does sell his vision for this club. I knew before I met him how he was going to be and he’s just like he is on TV.

“He’s a great man with great enthusiasm. A lot of players speak very highly of him – not just here but throughout football – so it’s great to team up with him.

“Hopefully we’ll have a long and successful relationship.”

After stagnating for a year on the Chelsea’s subs bench, Sidwell will be chasing the form which took him into England contention.

He added: “The England manager was here a few times last season and I’m sure he’ll be here again this year.

“But England for me is a long way off at the moment.”

“I just want to concentrate on getting in the Aston Villa side first and foremost and I’ll see where that takes me.”