Mellberg, who seems never to be short of a comment or two during the build ups to the second City derby games, maybe went a bit too far this time with his comments that he 'don't like Birmingham City'. "He opens his mouth and says bad things about you and that sort of thing is going to make you determined to come out on top. "We'd like to dedicate the win to him. We've delivered every time against Aston Villa and we're delighted to get the three points." "I tried to shake Mellberg's hand at the end and I can't repeat what he said. "It's not sportsmanlike and if things don't go right, we should maybe just shake hands and forget about it."
The Swedish defender was made to eat his own words however as Blues swept aside Villa on their own ground with a more-than-deserved 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon.
"This win is even sweeter after Mellberg's comments," Savage said after the game at Villa Park.
"Every time we play Villa, it seems Mr Mellberg always says something derogatory towards us and it does wind us up.
One of Blues' goalscorers, David Dunn, had a word or two to say about the Villa skipper after the game too.
Dunn walked onto the pitch at the final whistle, having been substituted midway through the second half, and when he tried to shake Mellbergs hand the Villa skipper declined.
"We're always gracious in defeat and I think they should be as well," said Dunny.
Toys and pram come to mind!