Gareth Barry: Aston Villa need a great performance against Manchester United
"We were written off when we went to Arsenal after losing a couple of games to Middlesbrough at home and Newcastle away and put in the performance of the season. We should look at that."
Barry feels that Villa have to show the backbone displayed by the leading sides in adversity if they are to salvage their season.
He said: "Character is the big word now. We are going to have to show a lot of that between now and the end of the season.
"When you see the good players, if they can start performing when you are really up against it and the confidence is low, then it is a great sign.
"I am sure we've got plenty of those in our dressing room and we are looking forward to trying to put things right.
"We are looking at the big picture and the way the season has gone. It will be a big disappointment if we don't finish in the top four but we can't write ourselves off.
"If we are not giving ourselves a chance, no-one is. We realise we have got to stay positive because with what we have achieved already, we can do it again towards the end of the season."
Barry is hoping the international break will have benefited Villa after their 5-0 mauling by Liverpool at Anfield a fortnight ago.
He said: "When times at your club are hard, it is sometimes nice to get away from it with your country and then you can go back and refocus on your Premier League form.
"It has been good to get two good wins with England and hopefully this break has come at the right time for all the Villa players and we can bounce back for the final eight games and finish strongly."
Gabriel Agbonlahor could be restored to the Villa attack after being left out of the starting line-up for the Liverpool game.
He may partner John Carew as Emile Heskey is unlikely to have recovered from the hamstring injury suffered on England duty.
Full-back Wilfred Bouma could start his first game for eight months since dislocating an ankle after playing a third reserve game with no ill effects in midweek.
