New Manchester City signing Gareth Barry says his shoulders are big enough to carry the inevitable backlash he will endure from Aston Villa fans.
The England midfielder joined the revolution at City for a fee of £12 million with many Villa supporters believing the player has followed the money trail to Eastlands.
“The initial thing for fans is to jump on someone’s back straightaway when they leave,” Barry said in the Daily Mirror.
“But when it settles down I hope they’ll realise I served the club well for 12 years and gave 100 percent.
“I’ve seen players I respect at Villa, the likes of Gareth Southgate and Dwight Yorke, get booed year-in, year-out. That’s just football.
“In my case a lot of it stems from the Liverpool saga last summer. I’d like to change a lot of things that happened and that never really disappeared last season.”
Champions League football was a major driving force behind Barry’s desire to join Liverpool last summer and, although Manchester City are probably a couple of seasons shy of making it into Europe’s Premier club competition, Barry is happy with his decision to join Mark Hughes' team.
“It was a big factor that City were so keen on me and were willing to match the fee straightaway. I think it was too much for other clubs,” added Barry.