Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood warns players of 'intense' derby against Birmingham
Monday 21 September 2015 13:33, UK
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has warned his players of the severity of Tuesday's derby against Birmingham City and insists they must stay disciplined to win the game.
The two local rivals clash in the Capital One Cup, live on Sky Sports 1 HD, with Villa struggling in the Premier League and Birmingham going strong in the Championship.
Sherwood is expecting an "intense" affair and insists he will only play the players he thinks can cope with the occasion.
"This means an awful lot. It's not just a normal game," he said.
"You can only convince them of that by talking to them, and then the experienced players in the dressing room, who are experienced in local derbies, can help them along with that.
"It's going to be an intense game, a big game, and a game that I think a lot of them can handle. And the ones that I think can handle it will be on the pitch."
It means an awful lot to the fans but it means a lot to us in the dressing room too.
Villa have only won one of their opening six Premier League games, losing four including their last two on the trot, while Birmingham have lost just once all season so far.
Sherwood said: "It means an awful lot to the fans but it means a lot to us in the dressing room too, at this moment in time, because we need to experience that winning feeling again.
"I'm not used to losing as many games as we have.
"Like all derbies, intense ones, I think you need to keep focused and to stick to the plan. We need to impose ourselves on a very organised Birmingham side.
"It's going to be blood and thunder, we expect that, but we need 11 players on the pitch come the end of the game."
Live Capital One Cup Football
Watch Aston Villa v Birmingham City live on Sky Sports 1HD from 7pm on Tuesday
