John Carew insists Aston Villa will survive the sale of skipper Gareth Barry.

The Norway striker said: "What is happening with Gareth is part of football. I don't think anyone is shocked, although you don't want to lose someone who was one of our best players last year and for all the seasons he has been at Villa.

"That is football and that's the way things work and now we are just waiting to see who comes in to replace him - but I think it will be a good player coming in.

"It is sad like Gareth is going but I don't use much energy on it. I am focusing on the team we have here, the players we have here, and not all the surroundings.

"In the end we will get new players which hopefully will make the team stronger than before."

O'Neill has still to make any new additions but Carew has faith in the manager, who has often tended to make signings near the end of transfer windows.

The Norway international said: "I think the players are quite calm. The players' business is to go out and work 100% and not stick our noses into anything else.

"We have to concentrate on ourselves if we are going to be 100% and we are all confident the club will do the rest.

"We are in the same boat, we have to fight together as a team on the pitch and are not thinking about which players are coming in and when they are coming in.

"But we are 100% sure the club will do what is necessary to make this team even stronger than last year and maybe it can happen within the last two days of the transfer window.

"That is the way football is and we are confident that everything will be good."