Fellow Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has pleaded with fans to remain patient with Gareth Barry as he mulls over his future at the club.

The skipper, who has one year remaining on his current deal, is again at the centre of speculation linking him with a move away from the Midlands with Liverpool – who had four bids rejected for the England star last summer – expected to be rivalled by Tottenham and Manchester City for his signature.

Villa owner Randy Lerner this week revealed he is optimistic the club can hang on to Barry and, should he opt against penning a new contract, they would prefer him to stay for the remaining year of his deal and risk him walking away for free next summer.

But the 28-year-old will not make any decision until after England’s World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra next month, while Villa have no plans to pressure the player into making a quick decision.

Petrov believes his midfield partner has earned the right to take his time over what could be the biggest decision of his career.

He said: “I have said before how important Gareth is to this club. We should give him time to enjoy things because he had a hard time last summer.

“What he did to come back and make the fans happy again was great. There should be no pressure put on him and he will make the decision in his own time.”

Petrov believes it was vital Villa ended the campaign on a high by beating Newcastle at Villa Park in the last game of the season on Sunday and insists it can help build momentum for the new season.

He said: “It was important to finish well. We have not done very well at home this year. It will give us a positive lift coming back for next season.

“We want to start with a win again. We will take our break and hopefully we’ll have a few good players coming in as well as keeping the good ones we’ve already got.”