Source: Team_Talk
McLeish wants cool heads in derby
Alex McLeish admits he was taken by surprise by the intensity of the Aston Villa-Birmingham derby and compares the rivalry with the Old Firm.[LNB] But the former Rangers boss has warned of the need for his Blues players to "control their emotions" in Sunday's noon showdown at Villa Park.[LNB]Blues manager McLeish admits himself and his players "reacted badly" after Villa triumphed via a controversial penalty in the corresponding fixture last season.[LNB]Central defender Roger Johnson, who was alleged to have brought down Gabriel Agbonlahor, was fined by the Football Association after criticising referee Martin Atkinson, while full-back Stephen Carr was handed a one-match ban for gestures towards Villa fans.[LNB]McLeish admitted ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash: "The derby compares absolutely favourably to the Rangers-Celtic derbies.[LNB]"I underestimated it in the beginning and the fans really love each other down here don't they?[LNB]"It's a little bit similar to Glasgow. In Glasgow it divides the whole city.[LNB]"The Birmingham derby is quite tasty as well. It's very much a derby that is up there with the best of them.[LNB]"We got a thumping in my first derby at Villa Park (5-1) a couple of years ago.[LNB]"I went a little bit bold in that game, I played too many attackers in the game.[LNB]The backlash from the fans made me realise this was an enormous derby."[LNB]McLeish continued: "It will be important to control emotions. That is so vital.[LNB]"We had a decision which went against us in the last game at Villa Park despite a marvellous performance and we reacted to that at the time. It was human emotions.[LNB]"It is difficult for anyone to say you shouldn't do that until you've been in that man's shoes.[LNB]"The players reacted badly, I reacted badly and we look back and it is something we've got to learn from.[LNB]"We know we've got to keep our emotions in check despite things that might not go for you. Again that shouldn't take away the focus of what we are trying to do in a game."[LNB]Birmingham will be bidding to halt a run of six successive defeats against their local rivals - but McLeish will be content if his side produce the same level of performance as in the last two meetings with Villa, which ended in 1-0 defeats.[LNB]He said: "I've got to say the results don't tell the whole story because we've played excellent the last two games and we will want to produce another great performance on Sunday.[LNB]"It may not go for you but as long as the players give everything and give good performances, what more can you ask?[LNB]"You have to be realistic in life. We can't guarantee anything but what we will guarantee is that we will go and give a good performance.[LNB]"If we play great and we lose, that can happen in football. We might play badly and win.[LNB]"We hope this time we can take one or two of the chances we created last time at Villa Park.[LNB]"It really is down to the players on the day to have the bottle when they go over the white line and show they are capable of winning a game like this."[LNB]Birmingham playmaker Alexander Hleb has recovered from the knee injury which kept him out of the midweek Carling Cup success over Brentford - but Cameron Jerome, Jean Beausejour and James McFadden remain long-term casualties.
