Martin O'Neill feels Villa's imports will soon understand the 'fuss' of Sunday's derby with Birmingham.
Villa boss expects players to be fired up
Martin O'Neill feels Aston Villa's imports will soon understand the 'fuss' of Sunday's Midlands derby with Birmingham City.
The Villa boss expects his locally-born contingent, which includes the likes of Zat Knight and Gabriel Agbonlahor, to appreciate the importance of the match.
But O'Neill also believes his overseas players will quickly adapt to the special flavour associated with a local derby.
"I think that they would have a better feel for it, than perhaps some of the players who have been on foreign fields," O'Neill told the club's official website.
Fuss
"It doesn't mean you are going to play any better in the game. But during the course of it, if you understand what it is all about, it shouldn't hinder you anyway.
"Yet, interestingly, somebody steps in who doesn't know what all of this is about, for instance, in recent years at Celtic - because in the last 10 or 12 years or whatever, there were more foreign players coming in to play in the Old Firm derby.
"Where it used to be packed with Scotsmen, suddenly there are lots of players who initially would want to know what all of the fuss is about - but then soon got to know what all of the fuss is about.
"They will all get to know what all of the fuss is about on Sunday."
