Sunday Telegraph: Martin O'Neill will need all of his celebrated gift of the gab if his summer rebuilding plans are not to be undermined before they have started. In talks scheduled for after today's vital final game at West Ham, the Aston Villa manager must convince his captain, Gareth Barry, that the resurgent club are capable of breaking into the Premier League's top four very soon. If O'Neill's silvery tongue fails to do the trick, Barry could be off to join Liverpool, who have offered £10 million in players and cash for the England midfielder. Arsenal and Chelsea are also reported to be interested in buying the left-footed player, but Liverpool have the edge because of the friendship between their own captain, Steven Gerrard, and Barry. There is little doubt O'Neill will use every trick in the book to persuade Barry to honour the two remaining years of his contract. "I desperately want to keep Gareth," the manager has said of his prize asset. "He's the heartbeat of this football club. Heartbeat is the operative word: he's got a fantastic heart, but he's also got great ability and that's shown on the biggest stage recently."

Mail on Sunday: Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker has moved on from the worst days of his career, but he expects to find today that many West Ham supporters have not. This time last year, Reo-Coker was helping the Hammers escape relegation by the skin of their teeth after a rancorous season in which he had suffered racist hate mail and jeers from his own club's supporters. This afternoon at Upton Park, the former England Under-21 captain will draw on messages of support from fans at his former club to block out the boos and bad memories as he tries to drive Villa to the victory that would bring qualification for the UEFA Cup if Everton lose at home to Newcastle. And even if all he comes away with is a place in the InterToto Cup and more abuse ringing in his ears, he insists he will bear no grudges and treat it as another valuable lesson. Reo-Coker said: "I don't think I'll get a good reception. At the end of the day, they don't care how I feel and I'm an enemy. I don't blame them. If I was a football fan, I'd have the same way of thinking. "But since coming to Villa I've received a lot of letters from West Ham fans writing to congratulate me on my move and thank me for my efforts and everything I did there. That has warmed my heart. I'll take those letters on to the pitch in my mind to block out all the negativity." The lowest point of Reo-Coker's time at West Ham came in December 2006. "The week when Alan Curbishley took over, in the build-up to the Manchester United game, I checked my mail for the first time in ages,' he said. "I opened the top letter, which said something like: 'You n****r, get out of my club, we don't want you here'. I couldn't believe what I was reading. "When my name was read out before the game, there were boos. It all escalated from there and I was labelled as a bad apple. "How would you feel, at the age of 22, captain of a Premier League club if you got a letter like that and were booed by your own fans? People blatantly didn't want me to be there."

Sunday Mirror: Martin O'neill says he would quit football for good if he didn't believe he could eventually put Aston Villa into the Champions League. O'Neill takes his side to Upton Park this afternoon seeking the win he needs to guarantee a return to European football for Villa - at the very least in the InterToto Cup - after a six-year gap. And he refuses to endorse Kevin Keegan's view that the top four places are now a closed shop that nobody else can enter. He said: "In the cold light of day Kevin might, and I stress the word might, be realistic, but it isn't something you can just take and say, 'That's it and we won't try'. "I don't think just because these teams are so strong now that you should automatically down tools. That's half the excitement. "Kevin probably does have a point, but the whole object of the aspirations of clubs like ourselves, Everton who have done it once, and Tottenham is to break into that. "If I didn't believe it could be done I wouldn't be doing this job. You have to believe this is possible. Otherwise why bother? "And history shows that the order at the top changes from time to time."

Sunday Times: ASTON VILLA How close are they? Like Everton, Villa have mounted a strong campaign to lie sixth but are still 14 points off the Big Four, and Martin O'Neill's big signings for 2007-08, West Ham pair Marlon Harewood and Nigel Reo-Coker, have underperformed Can they take the next step? Unlike Everton, they have a wealthy backer, in the form of American billionaire Randy Lerner. If Villa are to show that they have aspirations to break into the elite they will have to keep Gareth Barry, the subject of an approach from Liverpool.

News of the World: GARETH BARRY will tell Aston Villa this week he wants to join Liverpool. The England midfielder has decided he wants to quit the Midlands club after 10 years. Barry says he deserves the chance to win major honours after his loyal but generally unrewarding service to Villa. A source close to the player said: "Gareth feels it's time to move on. He's given his all to Villa but feels he now needs the new challenge and the opportunity to compete at the very top of the Premier League."

News of the World: MARTIN O'NEILL has lined up a £2.5million raid on his former club Leicester for Joe Mattock and Richard Stearman. The Aston Villa boss will test the resolve of Foxes chairman Milan Mandaric with an offer for the two England Under-21 internationals. Mattock, 17, was the subject of a £1m bid from West Ham in January and Stearman, 20, is also a target for Sunderland and Spurs. The pair are likely to be casualties after Leicester's drop into League One.

Sporting Life: Zat Knight ran onto the pitch as an overjoyed fan the last time Aston Villa enjoyed a memorable European night - and the central defender is desperate to have his own crack at the UEFA Cup next season. Lifelong fan Knight can recall full-back Phil King scoring the decisive penalty in a shoot-out win against mighty Inter Milan in the mid-1990s after the sides had finished level on aggregate. Now he is hoping Villa can snatch a last day of the season place in Europe by winning at West Ham - while Everton lose at home to Newcastle. And he believes Martin O'Neill's side deserve a crack on the continental stage after being in the top six of the Premier League for the majority of the season. The former Fulham defender said: "I used to stand on the terraces and I remember beating Inter Milan down at Villa Park on penalties. "Phil King got the vital penalty and he was a hero for a long time after that. It was massive to knock out Milan, who were one of the biggest clubs around. "I remember at the final whistle running on the pitch when we won but don't tell the chairman that! I would have got banned if I did that today."

Coverage From Abroad

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