Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has not ruled out playing Gareth Barry in his side’s Intertoto Cup second leg clash against Odense BK tomorrow – and if the want-away England midfielder plays, Villa fans with long memories will get a definite sense of deja vu.

In 2000, defender Gareth Southgate played in the Intertoto for Villa despite the fact that a raft of other clubs, led by Chelsea, were after his signature. His loyalty to the club saw him play as they crashed out at the hands of Spanish side Celta Vigo.

That decision saw him become ineligible for European football and he had to forego his dream move to Stamford Bridge; instead, he remained at Villa Park for another season until finally moving to Middlesbrough, the club he now manages, in 2001. Should Barry play tomorrow, he will at least still be eligible for the Champions League if the prolonged saga of his potential transfer to Liverpool finally be resolved with a move to Anfield.

Just like Barry, Southgate had to endure the wrath of Villa fans disgruntled with his decision to look to further his career elsewhere. Barry was booed and jeered when he appeared for 60 minutes of Villa’s friendly against Walsall at the Banks’s Stadium in midweek and Southgate sympathises with his predicament.

The Middlesbrough manager said he didn’t want to comment on the situation in particular but said he could see the similarities with his own situation. He said: “I am sure Martin O’Neill would not thank me as the manager of another club commenting on that but I will say that the situation with Gareth Barry is identical.to the position I was in back in 2000.

“I played in the Intertoto Cup and Villa lost on that occasion to Celta Vigo. I had had interest in me from clubs including Chelsea but as a result of my part in that game, I was no longer an attractive proposition to a club with European aspirations. It was a testing time for me and it was difficult, as I am sure it is now for Gareth, what with the reaction of the fans and everything; in the end, things worked out for me. I had a fantastic time at Villa and still have great memories of my days there.”

Villa manager O’Neill revealed yesterday that he was considering playing Barry against the Danish Superliga club. The winner will play in the preliminary round of the Uefa Cup and O’Neill is convinced that his former captain should feature, if he feels up to the task.

O’Neill said: “If he’s mentally tuned in and wants to play, why not? In terms of fitness, I think Tuesday will have brought him on. Why shouldn’t he be in contention for Saturday? He’s a quality player.”

Liverpool have still not tabled a fifth bid for Barry, but O’Neill insisted he would be setting Reds manager Rafael Benitez a deadline to reach the £18 million valuation Villa have slapped on their star man.

O’Neill added: “Deep down, we would all love Gareth to stay. We haven’t heard from Liverpool for some time and we’re not exactly sure where we all stand.

“It’s a long-running saga and I wouldn’t mind it ending one way or another.  My preference – and hopefully I’m speaking for a lot of Villa fans, if not all of them – is that we would like Gareth to stay because it will be hard to place him. But we’re not sure where Liverpool stand. It was never mentioned about them needing to sell players before they bought – that was never in the system at all but seemingly it must be part of it. 

“This has been long-running and we’re looking to see it end. It is a really awkward position and there will have to be a timescale on it. We have got our own plans and we shouldn’t be at the behest of Liverpool Football Club.”

O’Neill feels Barry had to play at Walsall despite the abuse from some sections of the crowd. “Why did I play him? Why not? He belongs to us – he is our player,’’ said O’Neill.

Barry played for an hour of the fixture and had tempered the crowd somewhat by the time of his 60th-minute substitution, largely due to his assured display.