Football: Blues v Villa - DERBY DAYS ARE A PAIN FOR FRAIN.

Byline: IAN CLARKSON

DON'T mention Aston Villa to John Frain.

The former Blues full-back racked up nearly 350 appearances for the St Andrew's club, but his memories against the old enemy are not pleasant.

His first two appearances against the boys from B6 saw Villa romp to a 5-0 win in the League Cup, and that was followed weeks later by a 6-0 thrashing in the long-forgotten Simod Cup.

His final outing was for his end-of-season testimonial when Villa cruised to a 6-0 win. But the sight of Villa's then management team of Brian Little and Allan Evans playing keep-ball in the second half proved to be the final nail in Barry Fry's coffin and the bubbly boss was dismissed days later.

Sandwiched in between these games was the League Cup double-header in 1993 where Villa won both legs by a solitary goal.

However, that does not tell the full story as Frain missed a great opportunity to score when substitute goalkeeper Mark Bosnich saved his spot-kick seconds after coming on to the field.

Frain, who had scored a hatful of penalties during Blues' promotion campaign two years previously, cannot easily forget his penalty heartbreak.

'I can't remember the build-up to the penalty particularly clearly,' he said.

'It is a little bit hazy, but Nigel Spink got injured in the incident and had to be taken off. There was a long delay while they brought Bosnich on and I had plenty of time to think about the penalty - probably too long.

'I always put them to the 'keeper's left-hand side, but I had decided to change because I was sure they would have seen a lot of our penalties. During the long wait I changed my mind again and ended up smashing it straight down the middle.

'Bosnich saved it comfortably, but I only thought about it for a couple of minutes afterwards because it was such a big game and you had to stay switched on.

'It was a close game and Kevin Richardson scored the only goal, but it wasn't until after the game that I thought 'I've missed a penalty against the Villa!'.'

Acocks Green-born Frain had a big group of family and friends present among the 27,815 crowd at the game and he revealed that he had to endure a bit of good-natured ribbing on the short journey home.

'I had got tickets for a lot of people that night and we all stopped off at The Purple Rooms curry house in Hall Green after the match,' he said.

'I was gutted, but I got involved in some banter about the penalty with my party and that probably helped me. The lads gave me some stick in training the next day, too, and I was fed up for a week afterwards, but that was it.

'Some people have long memories and seem surprised when I tell them that I haven't given it any more thought than that, but I played in games that affected relegation and promotion issues for Blues which were far more important.'

The 35-year-old, who is currently playing for Moor Green, admitted that he did not take many more penalties after his high-profile miss, although that was not necessarily by choice.

'Barry Fry changed most things when he took over - including the penalty-taker!' he said.

'The only other one I can remember taking was for Northampton against Basingstoke in an FA Cup shoot-out and fortunately I managed to score.'

This Birmingham City side is a different proposition from the team of the early 1990s and, for the first time in recent history, they start this derby as red-hot favourites.

Frain, as a dyed-in-the-wool Bluenose, is delighted at the way the club has progressed.

'I have some great memories of my time at Blues, but it is a totally different club nowadays,' said Frain.

'We had some tough times, but also a couple of Wembley wins and a couple of promotions before I left. The standard in the Premiership is very high and for them to survive in the manner they did last year was really impressive.

'They seem to have taken it even further this year and, while avoiding relegation is the aim again, a mid-table finish looks a realistic possibility.

'In last season's two encounters I thought that Blues looked like a compact outfit and played with passion and discipline. Villa seemed surprised by this in the first game and in the return at Villa Park they played with passion, but no discipline.

'I am sure it will be a very close game, but I am taking Blues to win by the odd goal.'

CAPTION(S):

BAD MEMORIES... ex-Blues defender John Frain