Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill does not feel Birmingham’s poor run of form will count for anything in Sunday’s high-noon showdown at Villa Park (Villa 4/7, draw 3/1, Blues 9/2).
The Villans have no margin for error as they chase fourth place in the Premier League and with it a chance to secure Champions League football for next season via the qualifying rounds of the competition.
And on the face of it Villa are entertaining Blues at a good time, with Alex McLeish’s men failing to register a win in their last seven games, but O’Neill reckons the form book goes out of the window in derby matches (5/4 Villa HT/FT).
He said: “That will not affect them going into a derby. They have done excellently all year and they have been a surprise to most people.
“They have eked out some amazing results this season and have done it through a lot of hard work, a lot of discipline and a lot of controlled play.
“I think that is the sort of side we are going to face and not a team which has not won in the last seven matches.”
O’Neill is a veteran of the Old Firm game north of the border from his five-year spell as Celtic boss – most of which coincided with McLeish’s spell in charge of Rangers – and he has drawn on all of his experience to warn his players they need to have the coolest heads in the ground.
He added: “To win a derby game you need discipline. I think discipline is important in these games as referees want to lay down the law pretty quickly.
“Incidents in a derby game seem to magnify themselves and if you pick up a yellow card early on it is a long way to go to keep out of further trouble.
“Villa have won the last five games between the sides and we are certainly capable of beating Birmingham.
“Are they capable of coming here and stifling us and making it exceptionally hard? Absolutely.
“We will have to be very strong mentally and force ourselves on the game. The highly charged atmosphere of a local derby should go on and inspire the players and I think it should be a very decent atmosphere.”
Blues’ season has taken a dip but McLeish will be desperate to finish in the top half of the Premier League which would be a magnificent achievement following promotion from the Championship 12 months ago.
The Scot then spent around £10m on squad strengthening and he does not expect to be handed mega-money during the close season.
He revealed: “Will there be more than £10million to spend this summer? It won’t be much more than that.
“I heard Walter Smith talking about having a fantastic season at Rangers and then, because he’s done well on a limited budget, they think they can take a bit more away and he can do it again.
“I worked like that at Rangers as well and you can’t keep doing that. You can’t keep pulling rabbits out of the hat. There has to be investment and I am sure the board will back me.”
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