Aston Villa's Albert Adomah admits to derby 'revenge' mission

That was as long as the winger’s first taste of the Villa-Blues rivalry lasted 12 months ago at St Andrew’s, after a collision with home keeper Tomasz Kuszczak forced him off with an injury.

“It’s like I’m out for a bit of revenge this time,” laughs Adomah. “I want to last longer than 25 minutes. That is my target!

“Then if I do I can look forward to the rest of the game. I was a bit disappointed to only last 25 minutes away from home and be substituted. I wasn’t happy about that. This season I’m fired up!”

If you want to find why there is a growing optimism at Villa Park, then look no further than Adomah.

There is no other player who better epitomises the quiet evolution in Villa’s starting XI this season than the 29-year-old. Less than two months ago, Adomah could not even command a place on the bench when Villa were held 0-0 at home by Brentford. But having been restored to the team, he has scored five in six as Steve Bruce’s men have climbed from the bottom half to the top five.

Adomah is far too modest to blow his own trumpet, yet his attitude – and that of others who have also forced their way into the team like Conor Hourihane and Keinan Davis – has been refreshing at a club where for too long players were happy to accept their lot.

“I knew I did nothing wrong but the manager signed his players who he trusted and this is what happens in football, sometimes,” explains Adomah. “If you’re a player, you have to be patient. He played his players ahead of me and I knew that was going to happen.

“I got my chance and took it. Now I’m in the team I have to keep working hard to stay there and make it harder for the manager.”

Adomah played almost exclusively on the right wing last season after joining Villa from Middlesbrough in a £6million deal. This term he has enjoyed success on the opposite flank. “I played on the left before when I was at Boro, so it’s nothing new to me,” he said. “I think the manager prefers me on the right – when he brought his players in, that’s why he left me out of the team. I don’t think he thought I was right for that position.

“But because Andre Green got injured, there was no other winger, so he put me there and I showed I could play there. I think the manager is happy with me. And I’m happy as well.”

Adomah knows there is only one result which will send Villa supporters home happy.

“I’ve got a sense of what it means – it’s the bragging rights,” he said. “There are three points on the line, but I know on Monday when people go to work they want to be saying ‘We’re the best team in the city’.

“Hopefully that team will be Villa.”