Former Aston Villa boss John Gregory has paid tribute to Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry.

Barry is set to return to Villa Park this weekend for the first time since leaving the club in the summer.

Gregory told the Daily Mail: "On my first night as Villa's boss, our reserves played Preston and the coaching staff had told me: 'Come and have a look at this kid, he is special.' Truthfully, I wasn't impressed and certainly didn't think he was a midfield player. But, as the weeks and months rolled by, I began to share in the excitement.

"He had already featured in a couple of games which had taught me about his temperament, but I decided to go with him on the left side of a three-man defence, having lost Steve Staunton and David Unsworth ahead of our first match of the new season at Everton.

"That day, Goodison Park was electric, heaving with excitement after they escaped relegation the season before. Duncan Ferguson and John Spencer were up front, John Collins in midfield. Walter Smith had wasted no time making his mark.

"And into this setting I had thrown a fresh-faced 17-year-old who looked as if he should have been at home on his PlayStation. After 20 minutes I was convinced that, yes, I had taken leave of my senses. Everton were on fire. We couldn't get out of our half and Gareth looked like a little boy lost. But then something special happened. The ball flew at him at around 80 miles per hour. An absolute missile that most players would have been happy to stick a head on to and send it back where it came from.

"But this kid brought it down on his chest, flicked it up and then side-footed a pass out to our left wing-back Alan Wright on the half-volley. You'd have struggled to see the very best, like Bobby Moore, reproduce that. Suddenly, I saw a kid who was not frightened anymore. He went on to have a terrific match.

"He was quiet and undemonstrative. But I'm delighted he has moved on and fulfilled that promise we saw in him."