Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is delighted with the way Gareth Barry has shaken off a summer of transfer speculation.

O'Neill said: "Gareth, to his great credit, has put aside the disappointment of not joining Liverpool during the last transfer window.

"He has put his head down and got on with things and he has been excellent for us. My own view is that Gareth is now actually playing better than ever.

"Gareth gets more freedom to play with us than he does with England. Stiliyan Petrov is the one who does the holding for Villa which allows Gareth to go forward.

"But that's not to say he can't do both roles."

O'Neill also believes Barry will be refreshed for the two qualifiers after he was rested for the midweek UEFA Cup tie with Litex Lovech before returning to action at Chelsea.

He said: "Gareth had played a lot of games, including the two internationals immediately before we had a spell of seven matches in 21 days.

"I rested him in midweek for the UEFA Cup game because I thought he could do with a break and I think England might benefit."