Friday Papers
Sun: GARY O'NEIL is set to quit Middlesbrough ? just 10 months after signing for £5million. The midfielder, 24, has failed to settle on Teesside following his switch from Portsmouth and wants to move south this summer. O'Neil would welcome a return to Fratton Park where he began his career. But West Ham and Aston Villa have also shown an interest.
Mirror: Gareth Barry hopes Everton will crack under pressure in the race for UEFA Cup qualification if Aston Villa can raise the stakes this weekend. England ace Barry, 27, is preparing to skipper sixth placed Villa at home to Wigan in the Premier League tomorrow before their last game at West Ham. And Barry knows victory for the in-form hosts will dislodge Everton in fifth on goal difference ahead of the Goodison club's trip to Arsenal on Sunday. Barry said: "It's important we get the three points and put the pressure on Everton and a couple of goals could also help with the goal difference.
Independent: Martin O'Neill has praised Stiliyan Petrov following his recent upturn in form. Petrov had struggled to recapture the form he showed under O'Neill at Celtic. "He's been a revelation in the last few weeks," the manager said.
Times: Olof Mellberg may miss his farewell party tomorrow after calling in ill with a virus yesterday. The Sweden defender is about to join Juventus on a free transfer and fans plan to mark the occasion of his last scheduled home game as "Mellberg Day".
Sporting Life: Olof Mellberg has saluted the Aston Villa fans as he prepares to make his last home appearance - against Wigan tomorrow - before joining Juventus in the summer. And the defender is determined to try to help Martin O'Neill's side clinch a place in Europe before heading for Serie A. The Sweden international will be guaranteed a warm send-off from the Holte End as he brings down the curtain on seven seasons with the Midlands club. Mellberg, 30, said: "The fans have always been fantastic towards me and I will always be grateful for the support they have shown towards me. "Hopefully I can finish at home with a win against Wigan and it would be important for Villa if they can overtake Everton and achieve European football."
Sporting Life: Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill believes it is too soon to make comparisions between rising star Ashley Young and Tony Morley - the club's star winger during their 1982 European Cup triumph. Young has had an outstanding first full season with Villa following his £8million switch from Watford in January 2007 and was named in the PFA team of the year. The 22-year-old has set up 17 of Villa's 69 league goals - the highest number of assists by any player in the Premier League - in addition to netting seven times himself. But O'Neill feels it is not fair to judge Young against former Villa winger Morley at this early juncture of his blossoming career. O'Neill explained: "Ashley has been absolutely fantastic for us since he came here from Watford. "He has been phenomenal this season even though he had little rest after playing for the England Under-21s last summer. "To get into the PFA team was a wonderful achievement for him and showed what his fellow pros think of him, which always counts for a lot with a player."
Sky Sports: Everton and Villa are battling it out for fifth spot and a place in next season's Uefa Cup as the season draws to a close. Villa are three points behind Everton with two games to play after last weekend's draw at Goodison Park between the two sides and Reo-Coker says Martin O'Neill's men are concentrating on themselves rather than Everton. "Goodison Park is a very difficult place to get a result and we knew it would be a tough game," Reo-Coker told Sky Sports News. "Everton were fantastic on the day but so we were we and i think a draw was the fair result "We are still fighting for fifth place alongside Everton, we both have got two games left and they are very interesting fixtures, not just for us, but also for Everton. "At the moment the camp is very relaxed, a very relaxed belief and it has been like that throughout the season."
Coverage From Abroad
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