Brunt aims to break his derby duck

Winger Chris Brunt believes the Baggies have the momentum to help him break his derby day duck.

The Northern Ireland international lost both his Sheffield derbies for Wednesday and did not figure in the Baggies victory at Wolves last year.

He believes last Saturday’s win at home to West Ham has put them in the perfect frame of mind for tomorrow’s clash with Villa.

He said: “I played two, lost two for Sheffield Wednesday against Sheffield United. I also played in the draw with Wolves at the Hawthorns last year.

“I didn’t play in the Molineux one, which we won. It’s a big game for the fans. It will be tough because Villa are firing on all cylinders.

“But we can build on last week because there were plenty of positives in our performance, like there have been in the last few weeks.

“If we put everything together tomorrow there is no reason we can’t take a few points out of the game.

“The fans are on at each other for the whole 90 minutes in derby games. There are periods in most games where the fans aren’t chanting. The atmosphere in derbies is different and is always special.

“We’re all looking forward to it. Villa are a good side. They’ve probably improved on last season and they were a good side last season. It’s going to be a tough test for us but one to look forward to, with it being a derby as well.

“Hopefully we can build on last week’s result.”

Brunt surged forward in the dying moments last weekend to grab the winner against the Hammers.

He believes the late breakaway effort was testament to the fitness levels in the Albion camp.

He said: “We had a tough pre-season and I think we reaped the benefits of it late on on Saturday.

“It was one of the toughest pre-seasons I’ve ever been involved in but if we get the benefits out of it during the season it will be well worth it.”