Birmingham City take on Aston Villa this Sunday in the Second City derby at St Andrew’s, and Garry Monk has issued fans with the club’s incentive for wanting to earn the three points.

The Blues have not beaten their rivals since 2010 in the League Cup, and you have to go back even further for their last league win.

That was all the way back in 2005 to the last time Birmingham triumphed – it was a 2-0 win on that occasion.

One win in 14 league outings and two in the last 16 in all competitions has compounded their inability to overcome their rivals in these grudge matches

But this weekend, Monk is hoping for a different outcome and expressed the club’s motivation to earn the three points is the fans.

In a pre-match press briefing, the Birmingham boss spoke passionately about the reason why the players will be doing all they can do beat Aston Villa on Sunday.

Monk was quoted by club’s official media: “Our motivation is to make sure all Blues fans go into work on Monday morning with a smile on their face and proud of their team.

“We have a lot to do in order to get the result we want, but we are ready and focused and are looking forward to Sunday."

The verdict

There is no other reason to win a derby than for the supporters.

And in Birmingham’s case, it is needed more so than ever having not won a league game against their rivals in the last 14 years.

It has been a one-sided rivalry and Monk is hoping he can oversee a win to give the fans the bragging rights after so long.

And now is a perfect time, sitting above Villa in the table with a win potentially costing them a place in the chasing pack for the play-offs.