Craig Gardner insisted it was coincidental he was pumping his fists at the same time as the PA announcer confirmed Aston Villa had lost but there was no escaping the pleasure the West Bromwich Albion fans took in their neighbours’ misfortune and Tuesday night represents another chance to dance on their grave.
Eight points clear of the relegation zone and a Villa side in freefall, Albion make the first of two short trips to Villa Park in the space of five days in buoyant mood.
Rejuvenated under Tony Pulis, whose influence is there for all to see in a team that has kept five clean sheets in seven league games under his watch, Albion can take a giant step towards survival, nudge Villa closer to the precipice and strike a psychological blow before Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final.
“It’s going to be a massive game for me, a massive game for West Brom and Villa,” said Gardner, who started his career at Villa and moved to Birmingham City – the club he supports – before joining Albion last summer after a spell with Sunderland. “I know what it is like myself going down with Birmingham City [in 2011].
“If you say who would I rather go down, them or us, obviously I’m going to choose them. But I don’t want to wish that upon anybody to be honest.”
Asked about his gesture at the end as news of Villa’s defeat at Newcastle filtered through, Gardner said: “You are reading too much into that. We had just worked our socks off and just beat Southampton who are a top-class side. I didn’t even know what was going on. I was just so pleased we had got the three points.”
Twelve points have been accumulated in those seven games under Pulis, as many as Villa have picked up in their last 23 fixtures.
Southampton were the latest side to discover just how difficult Albion are to break down now the Welshman has stamped his identity on the team.
Ronald Koeman feared that would be the case beforehand and the last thing the Southampton manager wanted was to concede early. The goal was a beauty, a wonderful left-footed volley from Saido Berahino that tore into the top corner after only 70 seconds.
The bad news for Albion was that Berahino, who needed an injection in his foot before kick-off, lasted only 56 minutes. Brown Ideye also failed to see out the game, leaving Pulis sweating on the fitness of both frontline strikers for the exacting week ahead.
Southampton have problems of a different kind up front. This was Graziano Pellè’s 10th league game without a goal and the Italian was guilty of a dreadful miss in the second half when he failed to make contact with Ryan Bertrand’s low cross.
That left Southampton with only one goal and four points to show from their last five games. The cold showers in the visiting dressing room completed a miserable day.
Man of the match: Darren Fletcher
(West Bromwich)
