Birmingham Mail: MARTIN O'Neill says Villa are heading into Sunday's game with not only a belief they will score goals but also a confidence they are no longer paying for slack defending. His side went more than four months searching for a clean sheet before two arrived back-to-back against Bolton and Derby. "We have kept two clean sheets and that is very pleasing,'' the Irishman said. "If you think that you might keep a clean sheet, you know you have given yourself an immediate chance. "But we hadn't done it for 18, 19, 20 games. "Then you are going in with a belief that you have to score a number of goals to win the game. "There is nothing wrong with that. I have said before, I would rather win 5-4 than 1-0 because it would be more exciting. "But at some stage you know you are going to come unstuck if you keep conceding goals. You are going to pay for it."

Birmingham Mail: STILIYAN Petrov is eyeing hero status at Villa Park and knows another wonder goal like the one at Derby will take him one giant step towards it. The Bulgarian has suddenly shown evidence of his undoubted potential with back-to-back performances of quality after 18 months of mediocrity. Now he has set his sights on putting Blues to the sword by helping Villa to a fourth straight league win over their rivals for the first time since 1980. "Every player wants to be a hero, every player wants to be loved," he said.

Birmingham Mail: VILLA'S older heads will not necessarily be the ones who lead from the front at Villa Park on Sunday. The starting 11 is bursting with players with experience in big European or international fixtures. But Martin O'Neill is not convinced the likes of Gareth Barry, Martin Laursen, John Carew, Olof Mellberg, Stiliyan Petrov and Wilfred Bouma will be the ones to grab the glory. "Will they look after the younger players? Not necessarily,'' he said. "Sometimes I think that is a real myth. You would like to think they would do that, but it's sometimes the older players who lose focus and concentration in the cause of the moment as much as the younger players. "Ideally it would be great but I don't necessarily agree that is the way."

Birmingham Mail: MARTIN O'Neill will not be drawn into a debate as to whether Blues will stay up. But he concedes old foe Alex McLeish will not give two hoots Villa are heading into the derby in scintillating form. "There is no point me commenting because it could be termed inflammatory,'' the Villa boss said when asked of Blues' chances of beating the drop. "But I think they have got a couple of points' advantage and they have got tough games too. They would consider Sunday a tough game. "Obviously your mind would wander to the opposition's fixtures. You look at Bolton and can't stop yourself from thinking: 'If we can get a point here, or maybe force a victory there'. "I think the way Alex will look at it is that it is very much a big derby game and it genuinely doesn't matter that we come into it in decent form because, I believe, it is a game that could go either way."

Express and Star: Villa will be focusing on a clean sheet in Sunday's big game. Despite the free-scoring nature of Villa in the last few games, Martin O'Neill wants his side to do the basics well in the Second City derby. O'Neill's side have conceded more goals - 44 - than anyone in the top half of the Premier League, despite keeping back to back shutouts in their last two games. But the clean sheet against Garu Megson's side was their first for 19 games since beating Blackburn 4-0 in November. And the Villa manager believes a third successive defensive 'nil' is vital to their confidence. "We're going in with plenty of confidence and we've kept two clean sheets which is very pleasing," said O'Neill.

Express and Star: Martin O'Neill has refused to say whether Birmingham will stay up - for fear of providing ammunition to Blues before the Second City derby. The Villa boss, who has banned his players from talking about Sunday's noon showdown, believes that anything he says about Blues' hopes could be plastered all over the visitors' dressing room walls and used as an incentive. Blues go into Sunday's clash without an away win in 10 since they won at Tottenham on December 2 and two points clear of the drop before Bolton get the chance to climb above them when they visit Middlesbrough tomorrow. But O'Neill insists he won't make his opinions public on whether Blues can win their survival battle. "There's no point me commenting because it could be termed inflammatory," said O'Neill.

Sporting Life: Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is convinced his side's derby clash with Aston Villa will match anything he has experienced north of the border. McLeish and his Villa counterpart Martin O'Neill were both involved in Old Firm clashes in Glasgow during their spells in charge of Rangers and Celtic respectively. The Blues also face a fight against relegation from the Premier League, making the three points at stake in the match at Villa Park just as important as local bragging rights. "I think Sunday's game will compare favourably with the Old Firm matches - derby games are the same throughout the world," McLeish said. "There is great passion between the players as could be seen the other night and also the fans. "I always like watching these games. Regardless of the fact that sometimes they are not the prettiest to watch, the will to win the games is always evident among both teams. "So I'm looking forward to it. It is another great part of my education in professional football and I will experience a different derby in a different country.