Chester: Villa don’t need clappers to make atmosphere
JAMES CHESTER has teased rivals Birmingham ahead of the Second City derby by saying Aston Villa fans will not need clappers to create an atmosphere.
Birmingham handed out thousands of pieces of cardboard in the first fixture between the clubs this season but Chester expects a sold-out Villa Park to be raucous without any aid. The game at St Andrew’s was marred when home fans began launching the clappers as missiles, prompting an angry response from Villa boss Steve Bruce.
Chester had a slightly different take. ‘I don’t think there’s a place for throwing things at anyone in life,’ he said. ‘But I quite enjoyed the atmosphere. The tension in the air is what makes these derby games so special. I’m not sure the decision to hand out clappers on derby day was the greatest. I thought they might have got fed up after about five minutes. But it was still carrying on.’
Chester predicted Villa’s fans would not require any encouragement to make a noise. ‘The games I’ve played at Villa Park in front of a full house have been really special,’ he said. ‘The derby, a full house and the run we’re on, I’m not sure our fans will need any second invitation to create a good atmosphere.’
Villa have won six Championship games on the run to emerge as genuine contenders for automatic promotion and Chester has been integral. The 28-year-old has played every minute of every Championship match since signing for them in August 2016.
He will make it 76 games and counting against Birmingham and added: ‘Only recently have I started thinking about it. I’ve never been the most talented player but I’ve tried to do better than everybody else in how I look after myself.’