Brian Little has faith in Aston Villa and West Brom

Jan 9 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

and with the right run of fortune with injuries and suspensions I can see them staying in the top four,” he added.

Little is equally optimistic about Albion’s chances of avoiding relegation and has the utmost respect for Mowbray, with whom he worked as a player in their native north east two decades ago. “I know Tony very well because I was a coach at Middlesbrough for three years when he was club captain there,” said Little.

“It’s not a surprise to me that he’s made a good job of being a football manager and I admire him for sticking to his principles.

“The problem is they’ve let in a few soft goals. You can’t leave yourself needing to score three goals to win in the Premier League, you need to get 1-0 wins.

“They do lack firepower, but they haven’t got the resources to go out and spend big on a striker. That’s why they’ve loaned the lad Jay Simpson from Arsenal.”

Little remains positive Albion will accumulate enough points to stay up, even though he predicts they will leave Villa Park empty-handed tomorrow.

“I hope they stay up and I’m sure they can do it, but I agree with Tony that they need to be winning their home games,” he added.

“Albion will make it hard tomorrow, as they always do, but Villa will be favourites because they are stronger defensively and have more of a cutting edge.”