David O'Leary, still basking in the glory of Aston Villa's victory over Birmingham City on Sunday, will find out today if he will be charged by the Football Association for for inciting opposing supporters.

Having inspired his team to a 1-0 victory at St Andrew's, O'Leary raced across the pitch to share the moment with his chairman, Doug Ellis, who was sitting in the director's box.

Birmingham fans were angry at what was seen by some as an inflammatory action - some supporters had to be restrained - and O'Leary was ushered away from the scene by anxious stewards.

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"If I thought there was any danger, I wouldn't have gone there," O'Leary said. "I am a coward, so I wouldn't have done it."

Graham Poll, the referee, will today file his report to the FA and O'Leary will be sweating on the outcome. O'Leary also rowed with Poll and with David Dunn, the Birmingham winger, during an intriguing second half.

Whatever happens, O'Leary's relationship with Ellis has not been this close since the two were united as employer and employee on May 20, 2003.

Ellis, aged 81, has been recovering from triple heart by-pass surgery and came under fire from shareholders at the club's annual general meeting last Friday.

But Ellis remains defiant when it comes to backing Villa's right to retain the title of the top outfit in the city, even though Birmingham have made great strides forward under Bruce.

"I still regard Aston Villa as Birmingham's top club, definitely," Ellis said. "And while I am around, it will always be the top club. No one was more desperate than me for us to win on Sunday. The three points help our season and it has been frustrating for us over the past three seasons.

"There is a hunger amongst our supporters, shareholders, the people of Birmingham and the midlands for Villa to be successful again. I know that."

O'Leary insisted he had higher targets then just overcoming City. And he is confident that Villa will climb the Premier League table once key players such as Milan Baros and Gavin McCann, who is close to returning to action after a knee problem, are fully fit.

"In the past two seasons we've finished the top team in the midlands," O'Leary said. "Now we've won a derby match. But I've a bigger agenda than this. I came here 21/2 years ago to push this club farther on and do well with it. My aims are a lot higher than winning a derby match.

"We get a certain few people that jump on the player's backs very quickly here. The Villa fans in general are a fantastic bunch but we have a few that jump on people very quickly.

"They don't realise the amount of players we have got out - and we can't afford to have that amount of players out. If we start getting them back, we will be a better team.

"We had Kevin Phillips back on Sunday and you can see what a difference he makes. If he get Baros and McCann back, that will make a hell of a difference to us."