No ‘artificial atmosphere’ claptrap at Villa!

UNLIKE several of their Championship rivals, Villa ‘have never felt the need to use clappers’.

Villans have been critical of the likes of Birmingham City and Fulham for trying to enhance the atmosphere inside their stadiums by introducing clappers.

Manager Steve Bruce labelled Blues’ decision to hand clappers to their supporters before October’s Second City derby at St Andrew’s as ‘ridiculous’ after fans screwed them up and pelted Villa’s players.

Fulham have also attempted to improve the atmosphere at Craven Cottage by handing supporters clappers.

Ahead of the final game of the campaign, Villa have heaped praise on their own supporters – and appear to have taken a thinly-veiled dig at some of their rivals. Villa’s marketing manager Adam Lowe said: “This season, the club has doubled down on its commitment to make the fans the heart of everything we do, and this effort has paid dividends.

“Throughout the year Villa Park has been in full voice, away support has been some of the best in the EFL and results have shown on the pitch.

“We have never felt the need to artificially generate atmosphere. We know the Villa fans are more than capable of generating that noise. We just want to supplement that with exciting activations that improve fan experience and give a visual element to their support.

“The fans have responded incredibly well to everything we have done this year and helped carry the side to the biggest game of the season. We’re fully planning on capitalising on that amazing support at Wembley.”