Martin O'Neill: Experience will count for nothing in derby

Apr 18 2008 By Bill Howell

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."

O'Neill believes such derbies give rise to the unexpected.

He added: "Sometimes the players you expect to do brilliantly in matches don't perform and you can get the other way - people who you thought were a bit more low profile, they really blossom."