Berger offered new Villa contract

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BIRMINGHAM, England -- Former Liverpool winger Patrik Berger is to be rewarded for the recent upturn in his form by being offered a new contract with Premier League club Aston Villa.

Czech international Berger, 33, was loaned out to Championship side Stoke in November following a breach of club discipline and appeared to be living on borrowed time at Villa Park.

But he has recently returned to the first team and done enough to convince manager Martin O'Neill that he is worth holding on to.

"I'll definitely be offering Patrik something," O'Neill said. "He has done brilliantly -- really great. He didn't start on Saturday but I wouldn't read too much into that.

"If he can remain fit for a year -- and that's the big thing -- then I think he'd be able to make the same contribution as he has since January. I wouldn't want to minimise that in any way because he came on in games where he's been really brilliant.

"He has given us that bit of composure which was what we needed at that stage because things were getting a bit frantic."

O'Neill added: "There are not too many players outside of the top teams at this minute who have Patrik's vision. I never said his career here was finished, but you would have got long odds on the contribution he has made after going to Stoke because he didn't really get into their team.

"He came back, and I think the realisation that the great days as a footballer playing in front of big crowds might be over has maybe given him that inspiration which has brought out the very best in him."

Berger, who was a member of the Czech side that reached the final of Euro 96, joined Villa in July 2005 on a free transfer from Portsmouth.

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