Birmingham skipper Stephen Carr insists he has no regrets about the hand gesture which angered Aston Villa fans and led to him receiving a ban as he prepares for Sunday's derby at Villa Park.
Carr was given a one-match suspension by the Football Association after the incident at the end of the corresponding fixture last season. It was the climax to a volatile clash with Blues defender Roger Johnson fined £5,000 for criticising match officials over the controversial penalty which earned Villa a 1-0 win.
"I'll be behaving myself this time. I'm not going through that again sitting in front of five men (FA disciplinary commission) talking to me like a child again," said Carr.
"I'll be keeping my hands to myself. Do I regret now what I did? No, that's life. Do you know what I mean?
"At that time I was quite emotional. You shouldn't regret it, that's life. It's not good but you can't regret it. I went in front of the five men for the first time and hopefully it will be the last as well. I had to apologise basically. I didn't want to but there's not a lot you can do is there?"
Carr admits the Blues players are determined to make amends for last season's setback.
He said: "The players were angry last time because we put a lot of hard work into the game, played really well and for a bad decision to take the game away is very disappointing.
"But it's gone now and it's a new season and hopefully we will go there and get a result. We were a bit unlucky last time. If we go there and do what we did last time, I'm sure we'll come away with the result.
"I love derby games. I can't wait for it. The atmosphere and everything is brilliant. I'm really looking forward to going there. A derby game is special at any club. It's what it means to the fans with the bragging rights until we play them again.
"At the end of the day, for the players it's about getting points on the board. It's a different thing for the fans obviously, but we understand that. It's another game for us that we need to get a result from."
Source: PA
