Pump up the volume: James Chester in derby call to Aston Villa fans
Skipper James Chester has called on Aston Villa's fans to ramp up the volume for Sunday's Second City Derby – after claiming the atmosphere in the reverse fixture at St Andrews failed to live up to the hype.
October's 1-1 draw at St Andrews was the Wales international's first taste of the Villa-Blues rivalry but Chester admitted to being a little underwhelmed at the noise created by a capacity crowd.
"It was a game I really enjoyed," he said. "It was hyped up an awful lot before the game but I'm not sure the atmosphere quite lived up to all the talk. Hopefully that can happen on Sunday."
A sell-out crowd is set to attend Sunday's game at Villa Park, with the hosts hunting a win which would leave their rivals in deeper relegation danger.
"The couple of games that we've played at Villa Park that have been full houses have been really enjoyable," added Chester.
"The added spice of a derby will make it even more so."
Chester has enjoyed an impressive campaign since joining Villa from Albion last summer in a £6million move.
But with Steve Bruce's men destined for only a mid-table finish in the Championship, he knows more will be expected next term.
"No-one has said directly that we need to go up next year," he said.
"As a group of players, and with the money that has been spent here, we know we need to go up sooner rather than later.
"The size of this club deserves to be in the PL.
"The experience that we have gained this season will hopefully benefit us as a squad.
"Where we are now, we're not far from what we want to achieve. We just need more consistency.
"Hopefully if we find that, next season will be the season."
