Aston Villa boss Dean Smith tells players to block out Second City Derby noise

Villa’s boss does not need any lessons on what to expect when it comes to atmosphere, having attended several Second City derbies on enemy turf as an away supporter.

He explained: “I went to a number of Blues-Villa games in the 1980s. It was a little bit naughty in those times!

“I was there in 1987 when Garry Thompson scored twice. I was also there for a few defeats. The 3-0 around Christmas in 1982 sticks in the mind.

“There is always a great atmosphere but it’s just noise and that is what you have to treat it as. We all know what is at stake, local bragging rights and three points. The lads are professional players.

“I have got a good record there. The last two times we took Brentford there we won. Villa have also got a decent record over Birmingham at the moment and we want to keep that going.”

Smith, who will have family members from both sides of the city divide in the stands tomorrow, is aiming to extend a run of 13 unbeaten league games for Villa against their fiercest rivals.

It is a sequence which includes six unbeaten league trips to St Andrew’s, the only defeat coming in a December 2010 League Cup quarter-final.

There is a bit more than just local pride on the line. With 11 games remaining, both clubs are still have play-off aspirations and know a victory tomorrow would boost those, while harming the hopes of their rivals.

Smith claims talk of the top six is currently banned at Bodymoor Heath but knows a win, while catapulting Villa over Blues in the table, would give his team increased momentum at the start of a week which also sees them visit Forest and host Middlesbrough, two other teams in the promotion mix.

“It would be a boost to go above Blues again,” said Smith. “Before the first game we were below them in the table.

“It would give everyone a boost. It is a big week we have got with the three games we have got.

“Momentum is a key word in football. When you have got it, you want to go with it. When you haven’t got it, you want to slow things down a bit. We can’t look too far ahead. If we win on Sunday then all of a sudden we have won two games on the spin and can look at the next game.

"They are all important games because of the position we were in. We’re not talking play-offs at the minute. We’re taking each game as it comes.”

Smith and his Blues counterpart, Garry Monk, are good friends having briefly lived together in the same hotel when team-mates at Sheffield Wednesday.

“Birmingham have always been a top-half Championship team, I think everyone knows that,” said Smith. “Garry has got them back up there, fighting where they should be.”

The Villa boss has selection issues in both defence and midfield. At the back, he must choose whether to field Mile Jedinak as a centre-back or move Kortney Hause into the middle.

In midfield, the dilemma surrounds whether to hand an immediate recall to John McGinn, with the Scot having now completed a two-game ban.