Steve Bruce: Aston Villa must keep their cool against Blues
Boss Steve Bruce will remind Villa's players the importance of keeping their cool in the red-hot atmosphere of Sunday's Second City Derby at Blues.
The clash at St Andrews is set to provide many of Villa's players with their first taste of the rivalry yet Bruce, who spent six years in charge of Blues between 2001 and 2007, is confident they will cope in a fixture which has had its fair share of flashpoints.
Bruce claimed his first derby victory with Blues back in 2002 when Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman allowed a throw-in to roll under his foot, while the return fixture that season saw Dion Dublin sent-off for head-butting Robbie Savage.
And Bruce said: "You want passion and energy and spirit the supporters demand but you can't go over the top with it. You can't lose that little bit of discipline where you do something stupid.
"That concentration level still needs to be sky-high. You can't make the mistakes that could change the derby.
"You can't go to ten-men for example, which sometimes happens. All of those things are what a derby demands, playing in big game on big occasion. Don't get caught up on that."
Bruce's return to his former club has added extra spice to the first meeting between the rivals at St Andrews since January 2011. The 55-year-old has challenged the home fans to come up with an original nickname and hopes by taking the brunt of the flak will in turn ease some of the pressure on his players.
"I'll take it all if necessary," he said. "Hopefully it's all aimed at me, I know I'll get a fair share of it.
"If that helps my players then great because all week we have reminded them what to expect. Our preparation has been from Monday. They all know what to expect. It won't catch them unaware."
He added: "Of course this is the type of game which can break players, but it can go the other way too. You can make yourself a big hero with your supporters. We hope that we've got one on our team that can produce that bit of magic to win us the derby game."
Villa are unbeaten since Bruce replaced Roberto Di Matteo as manager earlier this month but enter the game six points behind their rivals.
Bruce added: "A win would certainly help. Two weeks ago we were in the bottom three.
"If we do manage to turn them over we're three points behind them and sitting just below the play-offs. That's got to be the long-term aim."
