Filed under: Birmingham, Premier League, Football
In the immediate aftermath of Birmingham's FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Bolton, manager Alex McLeish remarked that, if he had to choose between winning that tie or the sides' forthcoming Premier League game, it would be the latter.Three weeks on, following a last-gasp defeat to Wigan, the one team below them in the Premier League table, the need for that victory for McLeish's relegation-threatened team has intensified.
The bottom line is that 19th-placed Blues, a point adrift of the safety mark with a game in hand, have not won a match since lifting the Carling Cup at the expense of Arsenal a month ago.
Incredibly, Saturday's visit of Bolton will be their 19th game in 2011 - level with Manchester United - and although talismanic midfielder Barry Ferguson has this week claimed it cannot be used as an excuse for relegation, it would most certainly be a reason.
While their starting XI is relatively strong, the lack of strength in depth at McLeish's disposal has been apparent in recent weeks as injury niggles have began to stack up among his jaded players.
Having looked dead on their feet since winning at Wembley, no team will have greeted the arrival of the international break more than the St Andrew's club.
Key first-team players like Stephen Carr, Roger Johnson, Barry Ferguson, Martin Jiranek, David Bentley, Liam Ridgewell and Craig Gardner have all benefited from the opportunity to put their feet up for a fortnight having been nagged by injury problems of late.
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