Staunton puts security first for shaky Villa

FA PREMIERSHIP:Jon Brodkin finds the ex-Ireland skipper in optimistic form despite the embarrassment of that local derby defeat to Birmingham City.

When Steve Staunton reflected yesterday that he was on the verge of hitting someone during Aston Villa's derby defeat at St Andrews, it was not Peter Enckelman he had in mind. The Drogheda man was referring to the Birmingham City fan he grabbed on the pitch and few can blame him for questioning the security, or fretting that the outcome might well have been worse.

As soon as Enckelman's bizarre goalkeeping error had handed City their second goal, a small number of home supporters invaded the field to celebrate and taunt Villa's players. When one hit Alpay Ozalan, Staunton had to restrain himself from striking the culprit.

"There was no blow," he said. "I just grabbed him."

But the 33-year-old is upset that lax security allowed things to come to that. "I would just like to know where the stewarding is or where the police were," he said. "At most grounds that wouldn't have happened. People wouldn't have been allowed to run on the pitch so easily. These things happen and you've got to take it; some take it better than others.

"When the fella clipped Alpay I was on the verge of hitting him because you can't do that. I'm not the one that should be hitting him either. He shouldn't have been allowed to do it. There should have been a policeman or steward after him to make sure it doesn't happen.

"Who knows, in future somebody could run on with a knife or something. You just do not know. Maybe I'm wrong for saying it but you never know, especially in the world we live in today. Somebody could go crazy."

For Staunton the altercation almost added injury to insult on a bad night. As captain he concedes Villa did not play with enough passion to begin with, even after he had pinned up letters from Villa followers in case anyone was in doubt about the match's importance.

"There hadn't been one of these games for a long, long time," he explained, "and we've got a fair few foreigners. No matter if they've played in derbies around the world, Birmingham and Villa is special in England and I knew what it was all about. They've got to learn as well and I think they learned an awful lot on Monday night. They'll know in future what's required.

"In the first half we didn't show anything. I've watched the game again and, bad as we were, I didn't think Birmingham were great but they showed a lot more desire and will. They'd been wanting the game for 16 years but that's still no excuse. In the second half we showed a little bit more of what we're about but we have to start games like that. To be fair, we have at home and, hopefully, we can again tomorrow."

Graham Taylor's team must win their match against Everton at Villa Park to stop unrest growing among the supporters. Staunton talks of the need to "give something back" to the fans and hopes something positive will spring from all the negatives of last week.

"Sometimes you need a kick up the backside to go forward," he reflected, "and hopefully that will be our wake-up call."

With Villa 15th in the Premiership, behind Birmingham and West Bromwich Albion, they are certainly slumbering. There have been calls for Taylor's head only seven months into his second spell in charge but Staunton insists the manager should be given time. He senses the club are moving in the right direction, getting a similar feeling to the one he had during a stint at Anfield a few years back.

"I can see a lot of positives coming," he said. "I can see where it's starting off. I saw it when Gerard Houllier took over at Liverpool. There was something different, something being instilled and the club has moved on. I can see the same here, although I don't think Graham's going to have that sort of money to spend.

"For a few years there's been this negative feeling at Aston Villa, a lot of players coming out and saying their bits and pieces. The manager's come in and I know for a fact he'll make sure the club, from grass roots right through, will be in a better shape. Sometimes managers just look after the first team but Graham sees it as a club. He wants to get a solid foundation and he's slowly doing that."

After a turbulent summer in the Republic of Ireland camp with its Roy Keane soap opera - "I've nothing to say on that matter" - Staunton must yearn for some calm. Given that he won two League Cups and finished second and fourth in the Premiership in his first stint with Villa from 1991-98, he knows better than many the scale of the decline.

The departures in recent seasons of Gareth Southgate, Ugo Ehiogu, George Boateng and David James have led to questions about Villa's ambition. The future of Alpay, another international, is not completely resolved.

Yet Staunton says the quality of young players such as Darius Vassell, Jlloyd Samuel, Gareth Barry and Stefan Moore fills him with optimism. There are "probably half a dozen others" bubbling under, he adds. Coming into an era when most clubs will be cutting back on transfers, he feels Villa are well placed to prosper.

"The club's definitely underachieved," he said. "A club of this size should be getting bigger, and it will do. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to go forwards, and this club has been a bit stagnant for the last few years. Sometimes you just need to go to a certain level to go forward again. I think this club will be okay.

"It's in a transitional period and has been for too long but I think now, if the manager's given the time to see through this phase, the club will be in a very healthy position. We won the FA Youth Cup last season and any of those boys could come through - it depends who develops. I see the talent coming through from the youth team and the young lads in the reserves.

"If you're a fan you always want to see big-name players coming in but sometimes it's not feasible. Hopefully, that will enable the manager to play some of the younger ones and give them their chance. Stefan Moore had a chance against Charlton, came on and scored a lovely goal. It's very positive here. I think it is only a matter of time before things will be right."

- Guardian Service