Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has revealed that it has taken time for him to consider the West Midlands outfit to be contenders for promotion.
Ahead of their derby with Birmingham City, Villa sit in fifth place in the Championship table having won five of their last six matches.
However, Bruce has said that he feared Villa would become embroiled in a battle to remain at the second tier after initially replacing Roberto Di Matteo 12 months ago.
The 56-year-old is quoted by the Birmingham Mail as saying: "When I first arrived I didn't think we were anywhere near it. I thought we were closer to the other end. Inwardly I thought we have got a job on our hands here. I thought we could slip the other way.
"I make no bones about it. For six months I made us difficult to beat. I didn't care about entertaining. We just had to get a few results and turn the whole thing around."
Bruce has won 23 of his 52 matches in charge of Villa.
Darren Plant
