Aston Villa star targeting 'statement' derby win at Wolves

The Great Barr-raised midfielder says a win at Molineux is long overdue for Villa, who have struggled on the road against their rivals in recent seasons.

Ramsey made his full Premier League debut when a stoppage time Anwar El Ghazi penalty earned a 1-0 victory behind closed doors in December 2020 but that is Villa’s only success in their last seven visits. 

Their last win in front of supporters at Molineux came more than 13 years ago, when Robbie Keane famously scored late on in a 3-2 victory. Ramsey admits it is time Villa started changing the record.

He said: “I’ve good memories there obviously, having made my first Premier League start but we haven’t won there a lot.

“I remember losing 2-1 under Steven Gerrard, while last season was 1-1. We have not really had a good statement result there, so we want to do that on Saturday.”

While most view the Villa-Wolves rivalry as a distant third behind Villa-Blues and Villa-Albion, Ramsey very much views it is a big derby game and says the same applies to Morgan Rogers, who grew up in Halesowen and was part of Albion’s academy.

He explained: “I am a local boy, the games against Wolves, some people say it is not a derby but I think if you are from the area, you do. 

“The reception we get confirms that. Whenever Jack (Grealish) played there before, he got a few, which is part of football. It is going to be a really tough game and we are looking forward to it.

“I think they (Wolves fans) probably see it more as a derby than Villa fans. But from a local point of view, those games against Wolves and West Brom are derbies for me.”

Villa head into the match less than 72 hours after beating Celtic 4-2 on Wednesday night to qualify for the last-16 of the Champions League, with Ramsey setting up two goals and delivering his most complete performance since suffering a broken foot while playing for England under-21s 18 months ago.

Saturday’s game is Villa’s seventh in the space of 23 days and they will be missing several senior players through injury.

While Wednesday might have been a high point in the club’s recent history, Ramsey acknowledged players get little chance to bask in the glory before turning attention to the next challenge.

Villa are unbeaten in five Premier League matches but lost ground on the division’s top-five after being held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham last Sunday.

Ramsey said: “Football is a funny game. Like I have said before, sometimes you can be 10/10 and up in the stars like Wednesday night. 

“On Saturday we could be back hitting the ground and being humbled. 

“We enjoyed Wednesday night and then Thursday we are back in, recovering. The boss is so good about that. If we lose, he puts it aside and it is the same if we win, he will forget about it completely and put full focus on the next one.

“But that is football for you. You can’t get too high or low. We have another game in two or three days and we have to focus.”