Steve Bruce: Harry Redknapp appointment makes it tougher for Aston Villa

Former Tottenham and Portsmouth boss Redknapp has been tasked with saving Villa's bitter city rivals from falling into League One after being appointed at St Andrews for the final three games of the season.

The 70-year-old takes over a side which had won just two out of 24 games under Gianfranco Zola, dropping from the fringes of the play-offs to sit just three points above the drop zone ahead of tomorrow's showdown at Villa Park.

Bruce knows a capacity home crowd will be urging Villa to secure a win which would nudge their rivals closer to the drop. But he believes Redknapp's appointment makes that a far harder task than it might have been.

"It's quite remarkable, as soon as I heard he was in at Blues I knew my job on Sunday had just got more difficult," he said.

"He's very talented at what he does, he gets the best out of players and he's proved that over the years.

"Certainly he'll breed a bit of confidence and belief back into the players at Birmingham, he is wonderfully experienced.

"We never want to see managers losing their jobs but in his appointment it has added a bit of spice. With his know-how they might be a different proposition."

Since leaving QPR in 2015, Redknapp has earned a reputation as something of a "gun for hire" taking in spells with the Jordanian national team and as an advisor to Derby in the final weeks of last season.

Despite now embarking on his eighth decade, Bruce is not surprised to see the veteran back in work.

"Did I think I'd see Harry back in football? Yes," he said.

"The one thing that age does give you is experience and of course if you've still got that same enthusiasm, then age it not a barrier.

"I saw his enthusiasm for it this week. You must maintain that enthusiasm because especially nowadays it's a difficult job and more demanding than it's ever been .

"You don't get time any more, you're always judged on yesterday's result. But if you've still got the enthusiasm for it, then why not?

"I thought it was a great comment from him that his wife thought he was mad. I can just hear her saying it to him - my missus would be the same although when I got this job she said she was glad to get me out of the house!"

The managerial reshuffle at St Andrews has deflected attention away from the fact Bruce is facing his old club when they are in a precarious position.

The 56-year-old is determined to get the win which will bring some joy to what has been a disappointing campaign at Villa Park but admits to hoping Blues will avoid the drop.

"I am going to be honest, I don't want to see them relegated," he said. "It would be poor for the second city. We need to be in the Premier League, not hovering around at the bottom end of the Championship."