Reasons for Villa high rise run deep
Thursday 6th March 2008, 9:46AM GMT.
Captain Gareth Barry has hailed his midfield partner Nigel Reo-Coker as the unsung hero in Aston Villa’s push for a European spot.
Barry has consistently turned in man-of-the-match performances which have helped Martin O’Neill’s side into the top six of the Barclays Premier League.
But Barry is quick to recognise the contribution of Reo-Coker who operates in a deeper role, which in turn gives him licence to get further forward.
The England midfielder said: “We are different sorts of players. Generally Nigel plays a deeper role.
“He does get forward a bit but, rather than try and play the killer ball, he will find me and hopefully I can get it up to the other lads.
“We complement each other very well and I think it is going very well. We both work hard to try to get the ball back, although Nigel’s role is one that won’t get him the headlines.
“But we all realise Nigel is doing a job for the team and he is not the sort of person to worry too much about not getting the headlines.”Barry believes Villa’s results against the top four in the Premier League are an indication that Villa are making big strides forward under O’Neill.
He said: “We’ve drawn away to Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal and that says a lot to me about which direction this team is going in.
“In the past we’ve maybe rolled over too easily.”
By John Curtis
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