Di Matteo has admitted that he enjoyed the passion of derbies while a Chelsea player.
He told the Birmingham Mail: “I think derbies add spice to the games.
“Derbies have no rules. There are no favourites as far as my experience goes.
“If one team is second and you’re bottom then it means nothing and they are special games.
“When I was at Chelsea our big derby was against Arsenal. Tottenham didn’t always feel like a derby because we always won.
“But I think the region will be feeling the impact of having four teams.
“The number of away supporters, the income and economic activity that increases. It will have an impact on the area.”
The Baggies boss added: “They’ve signed some very good players – what a player Alexander Hleb is – and they’ve spent a few quid.
“Alex is a good guy. We went to see the Champions League final so we got to know each other then.
“He’s a nice guy, we talked about football. He did a great job last year in the Premier League.
“They seemed to struggle to get out of the Championship but had a fantastic season in the Premier League.
“We forget that Alex, as a player, had a good career with Aberdeen. He’s taken that into management.”
