Barry vows Villa won´t choke

Gareth Barry has vowed that Aston Villa will not choke under the pressure of being chased down by Arsenal in the race for Champions League football next season.

Villa have the chance to recharge their batteries in sunny Dubai this weekend as a result of their exit from the FA Cup.

Martin O’Neill and his squad will also have a chance to reflect on what has led to the dip in form that has seen fourth-placed Villa take just one point from their last three league games, reducing their advantage over Arsenal to three points.

England midfielder Barry however has insisted that the players are looking upwards to Liverpool and Chelsea rather than glancing nervously over their shoulders.

“We’ve just got to try and see it through in the final part of the season,” Barry said. “But we would prefer to be looking up, chasing Liverpool and Chelsea. That is the aim, rather than thinking about Arsenal. You’ve always got to think like that, no matter who you are. We are still in there.

“Some of the the results (elsewhere) keep giving us chances. The players, the manager, the fans, everyone at the club realises you’ve got to try and take it while it is there this season.

“We are right in there still.”

Villa’s success this season has been built on their away form — ten wins in 14 matches on the road — and Barry admits they could do with an improvement at Villa Park, where 20 points have been dropped, with the most painful setback coming last weekend, when a 2-0 lead was squandered in a 2-2 draw with struggling Stoke.

“It would have been nice to put the home form to rest last weekend, and we were looking at three points but, all of a sudden, we lost concentration,” Barry reflected.

“It felt almost like a defeat after the game. It was a massive disappointment. We should have been able to see the game through, and it was a lesson to be learnt.

“It is baffling that we have dropped as many points at home; if we were playing as well as we are away, we would be top of the league.”

O’Neill meanwhile is looking forward to having experienced Dutch defender Wilfred Bouma available to help the push for a Champions League spot.

Bouma has been sidelined since July, when he dislocated an ankle, but played in a midweek reserve clash with Chelsea at Villa Park.

“While he still has a way to go in terms of proper fitness and getting over everything, I’d be hoping that he will be able to come and help us along in the final stretch of the season,” O’Neill said. “He certainly has his determination, enthusiasm and drive back.”

“The rest will be a bit of a process now over the next couple of weeks. But I hope that reserve game will hasten things on for him.”