GARETH BARRY could instigate his own return to Aston Villa’s side for the second leg of the club’s Intertoto Cup clash against Odense at Villa Park today.
Manager Martin O’Neill stated Barry could play some part in the crucial third-round tie if the England midfielder feels he is “in the right frame of mind”.
Barry missed the first-leg, a 2-2 draw, in Denmark last week as he had only recently returned from the two-week suspension he received for publicly criticising O’Neill and stating he wished to leave the club he has served for 10 years to join Liverpool.
Barry wore the claret and blue shirt for the first time since revealing his ambition to move to Anfield as Villa played a pre-season friendly at Walsall in midweek.
For the majority of the hour he played at the Banks’s Stadium, his every touch was roundly booed by the few thousand Villa fans that had made the short journey.
Ahead of Odense’s visit to Villa Park, where a crowd of around 25,000 are expected, O’Neill said: “Gareth Barry, if he is in the right frame of mind, has a chance of playing.
