Barmby places his faith in Leeds

LEEDS new boy Nick Barmby insists he is still on the trophy trail following his £2.75million move from Liverpool.

Just over two weeks after the Elland Road outfit were forced to let star man Rio Ferdinand depart for bitter rivals Manchester United under the weight of a growing financial burden, Barmby became Terry Venables’ first signing, the Hull-born player returning to his roots.

Even at a British record £29.3million, the loss of Ferdinand led to an air of resignation among the Leeds support, who feared their team had been condemned to life in the Premiership shadows.

Barmby though rejects that theory and, after being part of a Liverpool squad which captured five trophies in the past two seasons, claimed he would not have left Anfield unless he was certain Leeds were capable of challenging for major honours.

“This was an offer I couldn’t turn down,” said the 28-year-old, who won the last of his 23 international caps in the famous 2-2 draw against Greece which clinched World Cup qualification 10 months ago.

“People have been slightly down about the Rio Ferdinand sale and the well documented financial situation but you only have to look at the squad to see this team can win things.

“I have only been with them a short time but you can see the players are hungry for success.

“It was only two years ago Leeds were in the semi-finals of the Champions League with virtually the same squad. There is no reason why that can’t happen again.”

It was Venables who guided Barmby through the early stages of his career, and also gave him his England place for the first time against Uruguay in 1995.

So, the lure of working with Venables was another major factor in Barmby’s decision to trade in life at Liverpool just two seasons after his controversial move across Stanley Park from Everton.

“I won five trophies, so I would hardly call them wasted years,” he said.

“It was a good experience for me, I made a lot of friends and I was happy there even though I wasn’t in the team at the end.

“My first challenge at Leeds is to establish myself in the starting line-up. I can play across the midfield, so I have no preference. I just want to force my way in.

“This will be the third time I have worked with Terry in my career. I learned my trade under him at Tottenham and he taught me everything I know. I don’t have a problem saying he has had the biggest influence on my career.

“His knowledge of the game is second-to-none and even people at Leeds who have only worked with him for a month will tell you how much they have benefited from his experience.”

The anticipated double capture did not materialise, although Venables said it was ‘possible but not certain’ Australian skipper Paul Okon would join Barmby at Elland Road after failing to secure an extension to his contract with Watford during the summer.

“Fans are always looking for good players and if you bring someone of international standard in, it should create a bit of excitement,” said Venables.

“To get Nick for this kind of fee represents fantastic value. Even a few months ago we wouldn’t have got him for such a sum.

“I don’t think I have ever seen football in quite as bad a financial situation as this. Maybe at last some common sense is being applied, which would certainly be no bad thing.”