Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry is well aware of new expectations from fans ahead of this season.

Villa are breaking all season ticket records and Barry told Villa's website: "Obviously the beginning of last season was slightly unsettled here and it was a different situation for me. But on the back of last season and the way the club's going, I'm very settled here.

"Other than my first year or so, there's probably more expectation this season than there has been since I've been here. You can always tell that from the number of season tickets being sold.

"That's why I stayed here last year. The club assured me that they wanted to move forward by bringing in the right players.

"The fans appreciate that as well, so the expectation should be there and we've got to relish it."