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    BIRMINGHAM, England -- Aston Villa's Czech Republic striker Milan Baros, has been asked to remain at the club and overcome his difficulties rather than take the easy route of demanding a move in the January transfer window. Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has no need to sell the striker, despite continued interest from German clubs Dortmund and Hamburg, now that he has the considerable backing of new American billionaire Randy Lerner. Baros has hinted that he will have to look for a new club if he is not getting more football at Villa Park but O'Neill said that that would be taking the easy way out. And the Ulsterman has been so encouraged by the recent good work of his 26-year-old international, especially his substitute appearance in last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough, that he is considering starting him against Manchester City on Wednesday. That would be his first start since the 3-1 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield almost a month ago. O'Neill has also made his strongest plea yet for Baros to stay at Villa Park and suggested that it would be best for him to work through his troubles. "A lot of the time players who are having trouble getting on at a particular club, take the option of leaving for somewhere else and when they get there, they find that the situation has not changed," said O'Neill. "That could be the same for Milan. He looked very sharp when he came on against Middlesbrough and he looked confident. He was willing to get at defenders and attack them. "It is all about confidence with him and he looks to have that back. I was very pleased with him against Middlesbrough and he has played himself into contention against Manchester City." City have not won away from home in the Premiership this season and their last victory away from the City of Manchester Stadium came at Villa Park last season. And manager Stuart Pearce is exploring all avenues in an effort to solve the problem, including bringing back former midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips from Chelsea. Wright-Phillips, the England international, was sold to Chelsea last season, but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed that the Premiership champions are willing to listen to loan offers from other Premiership clubs. "He's a smashing kid and I'm sure he would like to be playing football. He is a fantastic player and I have tried to bring him back here in the past," said Pearce. "It's not often that a player of Shaun's quality becomes available and I am sure he will have a lot of suitors. "We would love to see him back here and it would be a very popular move with the fans. But it will be the board that decides whether we can afford to go for him." ExperimentingPearce will utilize England defender Micah Richards in midfield again, after experimenting with his formation in the 1-0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday. Pearce is eager to end the dismal run away from home and added: "We are looking at everything and we have changed our preparations to try and get a win. "But there are seven Premiership clubs looking for their first away win so it is obviously a problem to a number of clubs. "The performances have been fine but the results haven't gone our way and it's something we want to remedy as soon as possible" |
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Baros impressed O'Neill after coming on as a sub against Middlesbrough last weekend.
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