O’Neill hails Albion adversary

Villa boss Martin O’Neill delivered a salute to his Albion adversary as he gets ready for the ‘Battle of the Midlands’ Premier League derby.

Albion and Villa dispute top dog status on the patch with a resumption of hostilities at the Hawthorns, which gives Tony Mowbray’s team the chance to catch their rivals.

It’s a threat O’Neill is not under-estimating after watching the Baggies collect their first win of the season last week against West Ham.

The vibrant atmosphere and stylish Baggies display left O’Neill declaring that the Mowbray era was now tapping into the finest traditions of football at The Hawthorns.

The Villa boss said: “I thought the atmosphere at the West Ham game was terrific and I don’t expect too much different tomorrow. The way Albion approach the game is very refreshing.

“It’s the kind of Albion I knew way back when I made my debut for Nottingham Forest, in the match after Asa Hartford’s hole in the heart scare had stopped his transfer.

“Len Cantello, Tony Brown . . . these were really good players and they kept that tradition for attacking football going under Ron Atkinson. Tony Mowbray’s got that same philosophy and it’s very commendable.

“I don’t really know Tony well but he displayed exactly the same belief at Hibs when I was manager at Celtic. He wanted them to play in a really fine way –  he’ll not change and he will really develop footballers.

“My players should be in no doubt –  this West Brom team can play. They’ve got some very, very fine footballers on the ball.”