Carsley: Keep a lid on passion.

Byline: ANDY WALKER 

BLUES skipper Lee Carsley wants to see both sides flying the flag for football in Birmingham this afternoon -but not in the manner of their East Midlands counterparts.

Today's Second City showdown at St Andrew's looks set to be another feisty chapter in the Blues-Villa archive.

Emotions have boiled over in this fixture in seasons gone by and Carsley expects plenty of passion to be on display this time around. However, the veteran midfielder doesn't want to see a repeat of the moment of madness that overshadowed the East Midlands rumble between Nottingham Forest and Derby County two weeks ago.

Forest striker Nathan Tyson decided to wave a corner flag in front of the Derby fans following his side's 3-2 victory, an act that sparked a postmatch brawl between both teams.

Former Rams favourite Carsley insists that he doesn't want to see the sanitising of derby matches but he believes that there should be boundaries.

"I think there's a way of showing your emotions," said Carsley. "I wouldn't necessarily say that waving a corner flag in front of their own fans is the way forward but I'm sure fans like to see the players showing a bit of passion but it's about showing it in the right way.

Important "They are tense encounters and I think if you took some of the passion away you'd lose something from the game."

'"There's not a player at the club that won't have played in a derby to some certain extent, whatever derby you play in it's just as important to their fans as it will be to ours. There's a lot of players in the team that have been around the game for a long time so it will be no different for them."

Sheldon-raised Carsley will be the only Brummie in the Blues squad this afternoon while Villa are likely to have only two locals - Erdington lad Gabby Agbonlahor and Yardley youngster Craig Gardner. But the 35-year-old Blues battler doesn't believe that a lack of Brummies will have an effect on today's encounter, the 107th league meeting between the bitter rivals.

"I don't think that having only a few Brummies says anything.

I played in the Liverpool-Everton derby and, even though I wasn't a Scouser, I was still passionate about making sure we got the right result."

During his days on Merseyside, Carsley was narked by Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez labelling his then-employers Everton a small club.

The former Republic of Ireland international feels that historically there may be a 'big club, little club' mentality in Birmingham when it comes to Blues and Villa.

Yet he claims that it's Blues that are at the core of the Second City by classing them as 'the people's club'.

"Perhaps there is little bit of that (Villa looking down on Blues)," added Carsley, who will be experiencing a Second City derby close-up for the first time today. "I would say the majority of Brummies are Blues fans - we're the people's club of Birmingham.

"The past would suggest that Villa have spent a lot more money and it has helped with them playing in the Premier League for as long as they have.

"When it comes to consistency, we haven't really done it have we? What every newlypromoted team would strive for is to stay in the Premier League. We are trying to get rid of the tag of being a yo-yo club.

The manager has added some good signings this summer and it's important that the team keeps progressing and Premier league status would help that."

CAPTION(S):

FRACAS: Nathan Tyson DERBY: Lee Carsley says there should be boundaries