Gareth Barry looking for Arsenal repeat at Portsmouth

Mar 14 2008 By Bill Howell

GARETH Barry believes Villa's trip to Portsmouth gives them the perfect opportunity to make amends for their poor midweek show against Middlesbrough.

Villa have to get back on track quickly if they are to have serious aspirations of catching Everton or Liverpool in the race for a UEFA Cup place.

"We've got Portsmouth away and that's probably the perfect opportunity to put things right," said the skipper, who insists they must use their recent performance at Arsenal as a motivational tool.

"Maybe an away game straight away is a good thing - we'll be thinking of our performance at the Emirates rather than Wednesday night.

"We'll take heart from our display at Arsenal but Portsmouth have a lot of confidence after beating Birmingham in midweek and it will be a tough game, whether they're thinking about the FA Cup or not."

Barry was strongly courted by Portsmouth 18 months ago but decided to stick around when Martin O'Neill arrived at the club.

It is a decision he has never regretted.

He added: "I made the right choice. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

"I'm delighted to have stayed and the strides we've made are in keeping with what the manager said we'd do."