Aston Villa moved into the automatic promotion spots on Sunday afternoon, after Steve Bruce’s side overcame fierce local rivals Birmingham City at Villa Park.

Derby County’s failure to win on Saturday presented the Villains with the perfect opportunity to move ahead of their fellow promotion contenders, with Bruce’s men executing a wonderful result in an extremely professional manner.

Albert Adomah opened the scoring early in the second half, before midfielder Conor Hourihane’s wonder strike late on ensured Villa fans could walk into the office on Monday morning with the bragging rights firmly in their corner.

The result was of particular significance to manager Bruce, who had been away from the club for much of the week following the sad loss of his father, Joe.

The meaning of the result to the former Manchester United captain was clear for all to see, with The Villa Report sharing a video on Twitter of him looking visibly emotional following Hourihane’s goal.

Fans were quick to send their best wishes to the gaffer…