Albion keeper Scott Carson believes he has nothing to prove to Villa when he takes on his former club for the first time since they let him leave.

The 23-year-old will line up for the Baggies against the club and the manager – Martin O’Neill – who backed out of a deal to make his loan from Liverpool permanent.

Yet Albion’s £3.25m summer signing insists sending a message to O’Neill will be the last thing on his mind.

Carson said: “The only people I have to prove anything to is the people at Albion – the manager and the rest of the players and the fans. This is where I am now and last season is in the past. I’ve got nothing to prove to them.

“Last year was a decent season. We finished sixth and got into Europe and I played in all but two or three games.”

Carson also states that he has no hard feelings towards Villa boss Martin O’Neill, who decided against a permanent deal for the former Leeds man and signed Brad Friedel from Blackburn instead.

Carson said: “He didn’t say a lot really. I had one meeting with him and he said he didn’t know what he was going to do but he gave me the impression he was looking for a more experienced keeper.

“It was fair enough. He told me that and a few months later he signed Brad Friedel. You never take anything for granted in football and I wasn’t really thinking about permanent deals at the time.

“I was just trying to do what I did the season before at Charlton by trying to get as many games as I could under my belt. I am an Albion player now and that’s what’s most important to me.

“I have enjoyed my time so far here. I have worked really hard with the goalkeeping coach, Joe Corrigan, and I am feeling really sharp and really good about myself.

“Hopefully I will carry on playing well and the most important thing is keeping the team in the Premier League. Last Saturday was a good game against West Ham, not just for me but for everyone involved.

“It gave the players a great boost and me especially. It is going to be a difficult game because Villa are a great side but hopefully I can have a good game.”

Wile Carson is well aware that passions will run high between supporters tomorrow, he believes the Baggies players will approach the fixture like any other Premier League game.

He said: “There is a close rivallry and it’s got everything it needs to be a good match. For the players it’s not as much of a big deal. It’s more for the fans who work together and see each other more often.

“For the players it’s another Premier League game that we have to try to get three points from. People you see out and about tell you that you need to win for the bragging rights. As players, we just want to get three points as if we were playing any other teams.”