Blues 'still miss Savage' - Morrison
Clinton Morrison has admitted Birmingham will miss the influence of Robbie Savage in tomorrow’s Premiership derby with Aston Villa at St Andrews.
Savage was a constant thorn in Villa’s side during his days at Leicester and Blues and has never tasted defeat against them.
But the former Welsh international will only have a watching brief on this occasion after moving to Blackburn in acrimonious circumstances during the January transfer window.
Striker Morrison told the Press Association: “One reason why we have played so well against Villa in the past is that we have had players like Robbie Savage, maybe even like myself, who can maybe get the team going in the dressing room.
“There is a great atmosphere amongst the players and that is a big help to any team. That is Birmingham. That is how we want to be.
“I think Robbie will be missed. During the season since he left he has been missed. No disrespect to the players in the team, but Robbie gets around the pitch and winds up the crowd and everyone else.
“It was good for us and got everyone going. Obviously we have missed him - but equally we have got other good players who can do just as good a job as him.”
Morrison believes that Blues can kick-start their season back into life against Villa after dreadful performances against Crystal Palace and West Brom.
Steve Bruce’s side will be defending an unbeaten record in matches with Villa since Birmingham were promoted to the Premiership nearly three years ago.
Morrison said: “You always think at the back of your mind that Villa are going to win against us eventually.
“But I know that if we play to our potential, there is no reason why we can’t keep our run going against them.
“We know we should be more consistent than we have been. We are too up and down. We went on a great run at the end of 2004 and then since then we have been up and down.
“But this Villa game can be the making of us. It is the ideal time for a game like this.
“It is coming on the back of two defeats, against Crystal Palace and West Brom, where we just did not turn up.
“Against Villa, we have to turn up because we cannot afford a similar result The Birmingham fans have a right to have their say.
“They pay the wages, they buy their season tickets, and we owe them good performances.”
Full-back Mario Melchiot will return to the Blues line-up in place of the now injured Olivier Tebily after recovering from an ankle injury.
On-loan striker Walter Pandiani is also fully fit after needing a cortisone injection in his ankle to enable him to play against West Brom.
