Sun: MARTIN O'NEILL has booted Patrik Berger out of Aston Villa's first-team squad for urging Gareth Barry to join Liverpool. The Villa boss slammed the Czech midfielder's comments as 'ludicrous'. And he has made sure Berger will never pull on a Villa shirt again by dumping him from his squad for Sunday's final game of the season at West Ham. Berger, 34, who is out of contract at the end of the season, spoke out after Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Wigan. The former Kop ace claimed if he was in Barry's position he would 'go to Anfield tomorrow' and insisted it is an 'opportunity of a lifetime' for the Villa captain. That went down like a lead balloon with O'Neill, who is desperate to keep the England midfielder at Villa Park. O'Neill said: "I was really disappointed and surprised that Patrik, with all his experience, should make such inappropriate comments. "The sad aspect of it is that we are paying Patrik's wages. "For him to recommend one of our players to another club is ludicrous. "I think he realises that now and he has since apologised, saying he didn't mean a great deal of harm. "But the harm's been done and he won't be playing any part in proceedings from here on in."

Guardian: Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill said Czech midfielder Patrik Berger will not play for the Premier League club again after he urged team mate Gareth Barry to move to Liverpool. "I was really disappointed and surprised that Patrik, with all his experience of dealing with the press, would make such an inappropriate comment," O'Neill told the club Web Site (www.avfc.co.uk) on Tuesday. The midfielder, 34, who has made eight league starts in the last three seasons for Villa, had already been expected to leave the club at the end of the season. Villa are away to West Ham on Sunday in the final round of matches. Independent: Martin O'Neill has confirmed that Patrik Berger will leave the club in the summer, following remarks the Czech midfielder made urging Gareth Barry to join Liverpool. "I was disappointed Patrik would make such an inappropriate comment," O'Neill said. "He won't play any part from here on in."

Daily Mail: Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has told Patrik Berger he has played his last game for the club after recent remarks he made about Gareth Barry. The Czech told fellow midfielder Barry to move to Liverpool if he gets the chance in the summer. Berger said it was "the opportunity of a lifetime. Liverpool don't come after you every year" and that "if I was in Gareth's position I would go there tomorrow". The comments irked Villa boss O'Neill and he has subsequently spoken to Berger, who was expected to leave in the summer having made only eight Premier League starts in three seasons, and indicated he will not play any further part in his plans. "I was really disappointed and surprised that Patrik, with all his experience of dealing with the press, would make such an inappropriate comment," O'Neill said.

Daily Mail: Midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has insisted Aston Villa will not throw in the towel in their bid for European qualification. Martin O'Neill's side need to win at West Ham on Sunday and hope fifth placed Everton lose at home to Newcastle. That scenario would enable Villa to move above the Toffees on goal difference and gain automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup for the first time in nearly a decade. Petrov, who helped Celtic reach the 2004 final, is keen for another crack at European football. The Bulgarian international said: "We want to play in Europe and we want to finish the job. Of course, we've made our job harder by losing at home to Wigan at the weekend. That was our chance to put real pressure on Everton. "But it is still not impossible. We'll go to West Ham trying to win and hopefully the result will go our way in the other game at Everton. It was disappointing to lose after the run we've had, and now things are out of our own hands, but it is important to bounce back straight away."

Telegraph: Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has told Patrik Berger that he has played his last game for the club after the Czech midfielder advised Gareth Barry to join Liverpool. Berger told Villa's captain that Liverpool's interest was "the opportunity of a lifetime", and said, "if I was in Gareth's position I'd go there tomorrow". Berger was expected to leave in the summer and O'Neill said: "The sad aspect of it is that we're paying Patrik's wages for him to recommend one of our players to another football club. It's ludicrous."

Telegraph: Martin O'Neill is said to be closer than both Arsenal and Chelsea to signing Valencia defender Miguel at a cut-back price. Following the Spanish side's terrible season Valencia need to bring in some fast cash before they can think about strengthening their squad. Miguel will be an ideal replacement for Olof Mellberg who is moving to Juventus in the summer. Aston Villa are considering Spurs full-back Pascal Chimbonda, who has been informed that he has no future at White Hart Lane. Martin O'Neill has also been monitoring Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, even reportedly scouting him in person when the 'keeper featured against Coventry City on Saturday. Villa have also been linked with Espanyol 'keeper Carlos Kameni, while O'Neill will discuss the future of keeper Scott Carson at the end of the season. Martin O'Neill has also been spotted at Bayern Munich matches this season, sparking speculation that the Irishman could be planning a bid for Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Times: Patrik Berger will not play for Aston Villa again after urging team-mate Gareth Barry to join Barclays Premier League rivals Liverpool. Barry was the subject of an unsuccessful bid by the Merseyside giants last Friday and the Czech Republic international was widely quoted afterwards telling Barry not to pass up on the opportunity of a move to Anfield. Martin O'Neill, the Villa manager, was unhappy with Berger and although the player has since apologised he has been told he will not play in the final game of the season at West Ham. Berger has made only eight Premier League starts in three seasons and was expected to leave in the summer. "I was really disappointed and surprised that Patrik, with all his experience of dealing with the press, would make such an inappropriate comment," O'Neill said. "The sad aspect of it is that we are paying Patrik's wages for him to recommend one of our players to another football club. It's ludicrous. "I think Pat realises that now and he's apologised.He said he didn't mean a great deal of harm but the harm's been done and he won't be playing any part in proceedings from here on in." Times: If the team qualify for the Uefa Cup or Intertoto Cup, by beating West Ham United at Upton Park on Sunday, Martin O'Neill believes that it will assist his recruiting. "In terms of attracting players, European football always helps," the manager said.

BBC: Manager Martin O'Neill has ended Patrik Berger's Aston Villa career following the Czech's comments advising team-mate Gareth Barry to move to Liverpool. The midfielder told the captain not to miss out on the chance to join the Anfield club. And O'Neill said: "I was really disappointed and surprised that Patrik, with all his experience, would make such an inappropriate comment. "He won't be playing any part in proceedings from here on in."

Sporting Life: Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has told Patrik Berger he has played his last game for the club after recent remarks he made about Gareth Barry. The Czech told fellow midfielder Barry to move to Liverpool if he gets the chance in the summer. Berger said it was "the opportunity of a lifetime. Liverpool don't come after you every year'' and that "if I was in Gareth's position I would go there tomorrow". The comments irked Villa boss O'Neill and he has subsequently spoken to Berger, who was expected to leave in the summer having made only eight Premier League starts in three seasons, and indicated he will not play any further part in his plans. "I was really disappointed and surprised that Patrik, with all his experience of dealing with the press, would make such an inappropriate comment," O'Neill told Aston Villa's official website. "The sad aspect of it is that we are paying Patrik's wages for him to recommend one of our players to another football club. It's ludicrous."

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.