Villa defender Curtis Davies is relishing the chance to renew rivalries with Birmingham and Wolves – but admits he was gutted to see Albion go down.

The Baggies’ relegation back to the Championship has denied the West Midlands a full quartet of sides in the top flight for the first time since 1984 next season, following Blues and Wolves’ promotion.

While ex-Albion skipper Davies was disappointed to see his old club go down, he is excited by the prospect of the return of the Second City derby as well as the chance to pit his wits against Mick McCarthy’s side.

The defender said: “We’re going to be facing both Blues and Wolves next season. I’m sure a lot of Villa fans would say they would’ve been delighted for our biggest rivals to stay in the Championship but, deep down, a lot want them up for the derby games.

“It makes for some cracking clashes. I’ve been involved in many great derby games with Wolves when I was at Albion, they are certainly games to look forward to.

“I’m gutted for the Baggies. They play the right football for this division, but sometimes you need to win ugly.

“I think the other teams around the relegation zone are probably more equipped to do that.”

Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough saw Martin O’Neill’s men move within one point of last year’s total of 60 and a win over Newcastle in Sunday’s final game will see them overhaul that amount.

Three points are even more crucial to Alan Shearer’s side, who battle to avoid joining the Baggies in the Championship next year.

Davies said: “We don’t just want to draw with last year’s amount, we want to beat it.

“That means we are going to have to beat Newcastle – not for the reason of wanting to send them down but for our own reasons.”