Rowett- ‘who can take the heat’

History will count for nothing in the second city derby on Sunday, says Blues manager Gary Rowett.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the 42 year-old said – ‘On Sunday it won’t matter which club has won a major trophy more recently, it won’t matter which club has more points on the board and it won’t matter which club has a richer history’.

Villa will arrive at St. Andrews on the back of an upturn in form that has seen them pick up seven points from nine with Steve Bruce at the helm. But all form goes out of the window for the derby.

Rowett said – ‘Ultimately, it will be about which team manages the big moments in the game better and who can handle the heat of a derby atmosphere’.

Rowett’s only previous experience of a Blues v Villa derby came in last season’s Capital One cup where a Rudy Gestede goal gave Tim Sherwood’s side a single goal win. In truth, it was a dissapointing outcome seeing as Blues bossed the first hour of the game but couldn’t find the back of the net.

None of that will be remembered now though. To both sets of fans, the game offers more than just three points.

Rowett acknowledged the difference in resources between the two clubs. He told the Mirror – ‘This club was at a low ebb when we came in – we didn’t have a lot of money. So we had to build a platform for progress based on common sense and pragmatism. Now, with more resources than us, they are trying to do what we’ve been doing for the last two years and turn it around’.