Gareth Barry has promised Aston Villa fans he will not
put them through another summer-long transfer saga.
Barry’s thoughts are inevitably turning to the summer as Villa
look destined to miss out on Champions League football next season,
and with a World Cup year looming the England man has his future to
consider.
Last summer the Villa man was stripped of the captaincy and
fined for his part in attempting to engineer a move to Liverpool,
who may well revive their interest in the coming months with one
eye on the 6+5 ruling.
If the right offer comes in, it is hard to envisage Barry
staying at Villa Park, but he promises he will not leave the club’s
transfer plans dangling.
"From the experience of last year I'm hoping to deal with it
better," Barry told the Birmingham Mail.
"It would be disrespectful to the fans and the club if I'm
thinking about anything else rather than trying to get maximum
points from the last four games - that's where my head is at this
moment.
"It will definitely be a difficult decision, but we'll see where
we are at the end of the season before making any decision. It's
always going to be a tough one, no matter what happens.
"I've learnt a lot from what happened and last season I learned
a lot off the pitch. I'm looking for a completely opposite scale of
things and I'm confident it won't be one of those sagas again.
"There are things I'll do differently. I'm not dreading it at
all, I know what's coming. It's not something you dread, it's part
of the game."