"I have said it many times that every week in the Premiership you come up against these sort of players," Ridgewell said of the one-in-a-billion Tevez, the pit-bull forward whose nickname 'Apache' sadly refers to the tough Buenos Aires neighbourhood from where he hails rather than the camp 1980s Sugarhill Gang song. "The great thing is that as well as them all having quality, you are testing yourself against different types, whether they be small, massively built, quick, whatever. Hopefully we can deal with him."
Ridgewell was in the Villa side that were swept aside 4-0 at Upton Park last term as Marlon Harewood helped himself to a hat-trick but the Birmingham team will provide a different opposition this time around. "There's such a buzz around the place now," the 21-year-old continued. "That gaffer's helped bring that, we are all very confident, and that is the feeling in the dressing room. Some people will say that our bubble is going to burst but we are determined to keep this start going and make sure that that doesn't happen."