Gabby Agbonlahor laughs off jibes

Villa's Gabby Agbonlahor today laughed off the prospect of being the Birmingham boo boys' No. 1 target and admitted: 'If I was a fan I'd be doing the same'.

The homegrown hero, who hails from Erdington, is no stranger to being a target for terrace taunts - they have often been cruelly directed towards his mother - having scored in Champions League-chasing Villa's last three victories against their Second-City rivals.

He is ready for the same from Blues' visiting support when the sides lock horns at Villa Park on Sunday but insists he will be unfazed - because if he was in the stands he'd be joining in.

"I know there's going to be a load of chants that are going to come but it doesn't really bother me," he said.

"It doesn't bother any player. I just laugh. I find it funny. If I was a fan, I'd be doing the same thing, so I don't mind.

"It's a derby and I'm from the area so I know what it means to both sets of fans - it's a must-win game, or certainly a must-not-lose game. We've got to be going into it with confidence with our home crowd and hopefully get all three points."

"It's a hard game and they're going to want revenge on us because we've beaten them the last five times. So we know it's going to be tough but we know what we have to do to get the right result."

Agbonlahor's strike against Hull made it 16 for the campaign, taking him level with John Carew, and the Brummie forward is delighted to have once again improved on his previous season's total (12).