Christophe Berra knows derbies
Friday 18th February 2011, 12:59PM GMT.
Wolves defender Christophe Berra is determined to keep his proud derby record as he gears up for his first Black Country showdown.
The Scotland international, who could face international team-mates Graham Dorrans and James Morrison at the Hawthorns on Sunday, has never played against Albion before.
But the 25-year-old was unbeaten in all but three of 13 Edinburgh derbies against Hibernian, winning five and drawing five.
As Wolves bid for their first win at the Hawthorns in more than 14 years, Berra wants to preserve his favourable derby record from north of the border.
He said: “This will be my first Black Country derby but I’m well used to derbies from playing for Hearts against Hibs, which is a big rivalry up in Edinburgh.
“Edinburgh is a big city and there are two main rivals and those games always have full houses and are shown on TV.
“I can’t recall many defeats. Hopefully that’s a record I can keep up in the derbies here.”
Despite being new to the Black Country derby arena, Berra is well aware of the importance of the game.
He said: “All derbies mean the same to every fan wherever they are, so we know how important it will be on Sunday.
“Neither team wants to lose and I think it will be a very tight game.”
Sunday’s game is a game in hand for both clubs on their relegation rivals and Berra has urged his team-mates to make it count.
He said: “This is our game in hand on a lot of the teams around us, as it is for West Brom. We want to get something from this game.
“We’re scrapping for our lives and it’s going to be ‘touch and go’ to the end of the season.”
If Wolves are to win their survival battle, they must improve their record against teams around them after six defeats in seven against their immediate rivals this season, while they have only taken four points out of 39 on the road.
Berra said: “We need to improve our performances against those teams in the bottom half of the table.
“There would be no better place to start than with a big local derby against West Brom.”
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