Gareth Barry could be in line for Saturday's Intertoto Cup clash with Odense BK with Martin O'Neill today reflecting: "If he's mentally tuned in and he wants to go and play, why not?"

Barry returned to action at Walsall on Tuesday, playing an hour in the 3-2 pre-season victory against the Saddlers.

Now, with a possible move to Liverpool still up in the air, the England international could be back in competitive action for Villa against Odense.

Speaking to AVTV Online O'Neill told www.avfc.co.uk: "I think that in terms of fitness the game on Tuesday will have brought him on. So if he's mentally tuned in and he wants to go and play, why not?

"Why shouldn't he be in contention for the game? He's a quality player and that's what we're looking for."

Looking at the overall picture, O'Neill is frustrated at the lack of progress - one way or the other - and feels Liverpool have left Villa in limbo.

The Villa boss added: "Deep down we would all love him to stay at the football club. We haven't heard back from Liverpool for some time and we're not exactly sure where we all stand.

"When people say people are in limbo, I don't think that applies to anybody more than ourselves. We don't know whether to move forward or not with it. It's a long running saga and I wouldn't mind it ending one way or another.

"My preference - and hopefully I'm speaking for a lot of Villa fans, if not all of them - is that we would like Gareth to stay at the football club. That would be great because it will be hard to place him.

"But we're not sure where Liverpool stand now. It was never mentioned before about them needing to sell some players before they bought - that was never in the system at all. But seemingly it must be part of it.

"The point is that this has been long running and we're looking to see it end one way or another."

Tune into AVTV Online for much more from MON.