Berger eyes new Villa deal
Patrik Berger has spelt out his desire to remain at Aston Villa for another season and believes he can still make an impact in the Premiership.
Berger’s days at Villa looked numbered when he refused to play for the reserves before Christmas and he was loaned out to Stoke.
But he came back to Villa Park and apologised to manager Martin O’Neill who started to use the former Czech international as an effective substitute.
Berger played the whole of the second half against Everton on Monday evening and had a leading role in enabling them to draw 1-1 and move five points clear of the bottom three thanks to Gabriel Agbonlahor’s late goal.
He knows it is down to O’Neill whether he will be able to stay after next month but admits it would be ideal for himself and his family if he was offered another contract.
Berger said: “I don’t want to rush anything. I am enjoying it at the moment. We are in a tough position at the moment. We have seven games to go and I don’t really think about anything else.
“If something comes up, it comes up. If not, I’ll wait until the end of the season.
“If Villa offered me a new contract, I would be happy. I have been fit for months. I have been available for the manager, I love it here and also for the family reasons it would be the best option for me to stay here.
“I wouldn’t have to move the kids from school and sell the house. It is so much hassle. It would probably be the best scenario for me to stay here but if that’s going to happen or not, I don’t know.”
Berger added: “I am getting old. I don’t really have that many years ahead but there are older guys than me playing in the Premier League.
“I don’t see a reason why I can’t do that also. Sometimes I feel young, sometimes I feel old. It depends how I wake up!”
In the short term, Berger is keen to push as hard as possible for a starting place under O’Neill.
A potential opening could now arise as Gavin McCann has to serve a two-game ban after incurring his 10th booking of the campaign against David Moyes’ side before being replaced by Berger at half-time.
Berger said: “I am happy, I’m fit and available for the manager. It was my first 45 minutes in a month and I am delighted.
“Can I push for a start? I am trying to do that every day in training. It is the manager’s decision, not mine. That’s all I can do so at the end of the day. It’s up to him.
“I am not the only one. We have other players who did not even have to get changed for the Everton game so it’s good for the manager that he has 23 to 24 players available for selection.”
Berger admitted that Villa badly need a victory to banish any chance of being sucked into the relegation battle.
He said: “I would say it is better to be five points ahead of the bottom three rather than five points behind but we are looking over our shoulders now because it is not that much. It is only basically two games.
“If we approach the rest of the season as we did the second half against Everton, we should be all right but we have to perform.
“We need a win. This could be the crucial point for us at the end of the season but we really need to win. It doesn’t matter if it is a scrappy game or whatever. We just need to win one game.”
