O'Neill wants Barry solution

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has told suitors Liverpool he wants the Gareth Barry transfer impasse to end "one way or another".

Want-away England midfielder Barry has been left in limbo after Liverpool failed to improve on their last offer - believed to be in the region of £15million - and was made to run the gauntlet when he was met by over 3,500 angry Villa fans at Walsall on Tuesday.

"We haven't heard back from Liverpool for some time and we're not exactly sure where we all stand," O'Neill revealed to his official club website.

"When people say people are in limbo, I don't think that applies to anybody more than ourselves. We don't know whether to move forward or not with it.

"It's a long-running saga and I wouldn't mind it ending one way or another."

O'Neill says he is in the dark over Liverpool's intentions but would have no objection to Barry staying at Villa Park - and would have no qualms about playing him in Saturday's Intertoto Cup clash with Odense.

"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 at the football club," he added. "That would be great because it will be hard to replace him.

"But we're not sure where Liverpool stand now. It was never mentioned before about them needing to sell some players before they bought - that was never in the system at all. But seemingly it must be part of it."