Aston Villa v West Brom: Players must clear their minds – Sherwood

Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has told his players to clear their minds ahead of a derby clash with West Brom in the Premier League.

Villa are currently on a run of three matches against local rivals and Sherwood said he had never felt as bad as he did following a 3-2 defeat to Leicester City last weekend, with Claudio Ranieri’s side coming from two goals down to snatch all three points.

Sherwood’s men host city neighbours Birmingham in the League Cup on Tuesday, so Sherwood is keen for his players to regain their focus as soon as possible.

“The games come around thick and fast. You have to clear your minds,” he told the club’s official website. “You have to take note of where you made the mistakes, learn from it and work on it during the training sessions.

“But the defeat is in the past now and we have to move on. We have a lot of big games coming up and we owe it to everyone to perform.”

Villa travel to Liverpool in their last game of a tough run of September fixtures, and Sherwood is determined to take his side to Anfield on the back of a pair of derby wins.

He said: “It would be great to beat West Brom and Birmingham City and bounce into the Liverpool game.

“We know it’s going to be tough but we’re confident we are going to be able to achieve it.”

Sherwood is likely to have Adama Traore and Jose Angel Crespo available but Carles Gil, who picked up a knock against Leicester, is doubtful and will face a late fitness test.

The game comes too soon for on-loan defender Tiago Ilori, but Sherwood believes the Liverpool player has the potential to be a good signing for the club.

“Tiago is not ready,” he added. “He is a young lad who played in the Under-21 [European] Championships and he has played in his first 90 minutes since then the other evening against Brighton in the Under-21s. It’s probably a bit early for him to start coming into the reckoning.

“If he becomes what I think he can be, he’s a good buy at the money we are talking about. He is quick and elegant. He has played in four different countries, when you include England.

“He’s had a good rounded development. He’s a development project and someone I am very excited to work with.”

West Brom manager Tony Pulis could welcome Saido Berahino back into his starting XI after the striker featured from the bench last time out, while James Morrison is likely to return in midfield.