Gareth Barry insists he is "strong enough mentally" to cope with the disappointment of a collapsed move from Aston Villa to Liverpool ahead of Sunday's meeting between the two sides at Villa Park.

The England midfielder is adamant he will give "100%" to Villa and that there is no ill feeling between himself and manager Martin O'Neill, whose £18m valuation of the 27-year-old has not been met by Liverpool. The player is now concentrating on regaining full sharpness after missing a sizeable chunk of Villa's pre-season while wrangling over a possible transfer continued.

Barry, speaking publicly about the situation for the first time since the move to Anfield fell through, said: "Will Sunday be strange? I am 100% for Villa. That's all I'll be doing. That won't be strange at all ... Will the fans be behind me? All I can do is give 100% for the club. That is all the fans will want to see anyway. I am sure that will be enough."

Barry, who has two years remaining on his Villa contract, admitted: "It has been a long summer. There was continuous speculation but I feel I am strong enough mentally and I'll be fine with it all now. I always take things a season at a time. This speculation happened at the end of last season and it has been decided I'll be staying at Villa. I'll take this season now, concentrate on that and hopefully we can improve on last season.

"Do I feel hung out to dry over what has happened? That is what the football business is all about. I am contracted to Villa. They set a fee and it wasn't matched. Rules are rules."

O'Neill disciplined Barry after he attacked his manager in a Sunday newspaper article but the player said there was no bad feeling between the pair. "The manager knows I will be giving 100% for himself and the club, and that will be fine for everyone. It's nice hearing your team-mates wanting you to stay."

For his part Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez acknowledged that the Barry saga had affected his relationship with O'Neill but said he would greet him with a handshake.

"Do I have a good relationship with Martin O'Neill? ... I don't think so," said the Spaniard. "But of course I will shake his hand, I am a calm man and I do not have any problems with him about that. I had a good relationship with Martin O'Neill before this summer, and I was surprised at what has been said but I insist that I have not spoken to him since April.
"But I do not believe there will be any problem shaking hands, we can do it. We know that Barry is a good player, very good for them. We will try to contain him on the pitch and not talk too much about other things that have happened in the summer."