Sunday Times: JUST when it seemed as though Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa revolution might be about to slip into stagnation, along came hapless, disorganised Bolton Wanderers. Four goals later Villa were rejuvenated, while Bolton, buoyed only by the ineptness of those around them, find their Premier League status becoming more tenuous with each passing week. After a season where setback has piled upon setback, the glory days of Sam Allardyce now seem as sepia-tinted as those of Nat Lofthouse. "Nobody's given up," claimed visiting manager Gary Megson. "We just didn't do enough today, but the only positive is that teams around us haven't taken advantage. But next Saturday's game against West Ham is as close to must-win as you can get." As the teams trooped off, Villa heads high, Bolton's bowed low, the Holte End eulogised Villa's imperious captain Gareth Barry and rightly so, for in addition to strutting across midfield like the creative colossus he so often is, he had scored two and created another two. How Villa needed this fillip. Undermined by a squad so thin a supermodel might balk, in the space of three games without a goal and six without a victory, Aston Villa had stumbled from likely Uefa Cup qualifiers to Intertoto representatives. "We'd hit the buffers and our confidence ebbed away," admitted O'Neill. "But today our confidence came back. This was a pressure game for us and we handled it. Gareth Barry was magnificent, but a number of things pleased me today."

Sunday Times: Star man: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) Player ratings: Aston Villa: Carson 5, Mellberg 6, Knight 6, Laursen 6, Bouma 6, Reo- Coker 6, Petrov 6 (Routledge 86min), Barry 8, Young 7 (Berger 84min), Carew 6 (Harewood 77min), Agbonlahor 6

Independent on Sunday: Bolton Wanderers are staring ever more bleakly at relegation after Gareth Barry's two goals and two assists hauled Aston Villa out of their own bad run. The England midfielder took star billing in a game that for almost an hour was anything but one-sided yet still underlined why these clubs are having such contrasting campaigns. While Villa remain in the race for Europe after matching their biggest League win of the season, Bolton are in disarray after equalling their heaviest defeat.

Observer: It was from a Young cross in the ninth minute that Gareth Barry got the ball rolling. Having made Kevin Davies appear even more statuesque than normal in slipping the ball past him, Young floated in the perfect cross for Barry to head home from six yards out. 'We had been scoring freely, but then we recently hit the buffers,' said O'Neill. 'The first goal was crucial and then our confidence came back.' The expected sense of urgency from Bolton never materialised and it was clear when they conceded their second in the 56th minute that there was no way back. A flowing move saw Young flick the ball into the path of Barry, who knocked in a cross that Agbonlahor flicked beyond Ali Al Habsa for his first goal for more than three months. Four minutes later, a couple of unlucky deflections resulted in Bolton conceding their third goal. Young's intended cross fell into the path of Barry and the Villa captain's shot came off Joey O'Brien, wrong-footing Habsa. Villa scored their fourth in the 85th minute, when substitute Marlon Harewood, left unmarked, glanced Barry's free kick into the bottom corner.

Observer: Man of the match: Ashley Young This was a welcome return to form for one of the brightest young English talents in the game. The 22-year-old striker's performance helped to kick-start Villa.

News of the World: While England midfielder Barry scored his first goals in open play this season, two players to suffer the hardline stance of Fabio Capello ? Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor ? were also on form. The pair were booted out of Capello's squad to play France but the England boss surely cannot ignore the two fliers again when he names his squad to play USA next month. Their personal crusades could not have come at a better time for Martin O'Neill, who has had the look of a man stuck at Terminal 5 for the past few weeks. March was the equivalent of the dentist's chair since Villa scared Arsenal in their own backyard. But the storm clouds dissipated yesterday.

News of the World: NEWCASTLE United manager Kevin Keegan has joined Aston Villa in the race to sign Barnsley FA Cup hero Brian Howard. Former Chelsea trialist Howard has emerged as one of the brightest talents outside the top flight this season after helping the Tykes reach the FA Cup semi-finals. Villa manager Martin O'Neill is preparing a £3m bid for the midfielder and is keen to take him to Villa Park when the transfer window re-opens. He will face stiff compeition from Keegan, who has had Howard watched in recent weeks and is planning his own multi-million pound bid. The Tykes are desperate to keep Howard at Oakwell but could still be relegated to League One this season and would find a lucrative bid hard to turn down.

Sunday Telegraph: The lesson from this one-sided game seemed to be: if you want to rediscover your form, play Bolton at home. Aston Villa, so comatose in recent weeks, came back to life against opponents probably heading for the Championship. Without a win in five games, Villa vented their frustration on one of the prime relegation candidate. The chief destructive forces were Gareth Barry, who scored twice and ran the midfield much as he pleased, and Ashley Young, who had a marvellous first half. Barry, whose opening goal was Villa's first in four games, was involved in every scoring move. There was little flattering to say about Bolton, who have now picked up a solitary point from the last 24 on offer and are anchored third from bottom, four points from safety with only five games remaining. This win takes Villa above Blackburn into seventh place and rekindles hopes of a Uefa Cup place. "We played very, very well," Villa manager Martin O'Neill agreed. "That's what we've been trying to produce most of the season, but we've obviously hit the buffers in the last couple of weeks. We're back in the hunt. It was a great performance by Gareth Barry. He was back to his best."

Sunday Telegraph: Man of the match Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) 9 ·Two goals ·81 per cent pass completion rate ·Two assists

Mail on Sunday: Gareth Barry was Villa's executioner yesterday and Bolton manager Gary Megson was talking like a man bracing himself for the swing of the axe. England midfielder Barry scored a deserved double and made two more to end a run of five games without a win. Ashley Young, given a free role which he seized with relish, left Kevin Davies for dead in the ninth minute and produced a cross of such quality that Barry had only to nod the ball beyond a clumsy Ali Al Habsi in Bolton's goal. Bolton had their moments, Heidar Helguson failing to take advantage when he had intercepted Olof Mellberg's dreadful back pass only seconds earlier. And Matthew Taylor's goal-bound free-kick deflected off Gabriel Agbonlahor and flashed narrowly past a post before half-time. Agbonlahor scored his first goal of 2008 in such style that his manager, Martin O'Neill, described it as 'magnificent.' Young released Barry down the left and Agbonlahor met his cross with an exquisite touch from the outside of his right boot. By now luck was on Villa's side and when Barry thundered a shot towards goal it was deflected by Joey O'Brien, who completely wrong-footed his own goalkeeper. Barry's free-kick invited a subtle back-header from substitute Marlon Harewood, and Megson's humiliation was complete. O'Neill hailed a "great performance" from Barry and added of Young: "We just let him go for it; we let him play down either wing or pick the ball up in the middle. He was brilliant."

Sky Sports: Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill was delighted with his side following their comfortable 4-0 win against Bolton. Villa had lost their last three Premier League matches going into the Villa Park encounter, but dominated proceedings from the off and thoroughly deserved their impressive victory. The Northern Irish coach felt that the opening goal from his skipper Gareth Barry, inside the opening 10 minutes, was crucial in allowing the team to go on and play with confidence. "That was more like our old selves," he told Sky Sports. "We played exceptionally well today. We had a little spell just after half-time when we had to defend a couple of corner kicks with everything we had, but overall we were splendid today. "We had been scoring pretty freely this season and then suddenly we have hit the buffers, we haven't scored in the last couple of games. "Considering we haven't been able to keep a clean sheet for a long, long time, then the first goal was really crucial. "It got us going because our confidence came back, and the second goal was absolutely fantastic from our viewpoint and we did fairly well indeed."

Sporting Life: Villa manager Martin O'Neill was relieved to see his side get back on the winning trail after a run of three successive defeats had dented their hopes of European football. Gabriel Agbonlahor scored for the first time in 13 games while Barry's double produced his first goals in open play this season. O'Neill said: "We had hit the buffers. We played so well at Arsenal a month ago and if someone had said then we would collect only one more point from the next four games, I would not have believed it. "It was hard to explain the home performances against Middlesbrough and Sunderland after the way we played at Arsenal. "We did not create chances in those games and the confidence starts to ebb away. Today it returned. "The first goal was important and we looked as if we could score. "They had a good spell just after half time but overall I was delighted with our performance." Ashley Young recaptured the form on the left wing which had brought him England recognition after being given a free role by O'Neill. He added: "We let him go free today and he enjoys that. He can go down either flank and cause problems. He was brilliant today."

Coverage From Abroad

Villa's profile is growing across the globe, so if you're an overseas supporter and you find media coverage you would like to share with the Claret and Blue Army, click here to send us the link and we'll try to include it in Media Watch.