JUKE BOX DUTY
And first choice for Lukas is Final classic
LUKAS JUTKIEWICZ has come in from the cold to lead Birmingham’s relegation fight.
The 32-year-old has watched videos of the League Cup win over Arsenal 10 years ago to remind him how big Blues can be. And he wants to be part of the revival under new boss Lee Bowyer.
There was serious unrest among City players before previous boss Aitor Karanka was sacked and Jutkiewicz found his future threatened. The Juke’s two goals took Blues another big step towards staying in the Championship – but he wants more.
The veteran striker has fought so many relegation battles in his five years at Birmingham he struggles to count them. “Too many,” is Jutkiewicz’s response. “We have to make sure we get the job done this season.”
Third-from-bottom Rotherham have a big week with games against QPR (tomorrow) and Coventry
City (Thursday) before they are at home to Birmingham on Sunday
Depending on how Rotherham negotiate their backlog, Birmingham could be close to safety again by Sunday tea-time.
Bowyer (circle) has kicked The Juke back to life with three goals in five games. “I’ve been through this before so it helps,” said Jutkiewicz (scoring, below). “An almost identical thing happened under the manager before Garry Monk.”
That was Steve Cotterill, sacked in 2018, and Jutkiewicz said: “I was left out, seemed to be on my way out of the club, and then things turned around. If the manager stays and doesn’t want to play you, then the likely solution is you are leaving.
“But I remained confident I had something to offer this club and that proved to be the case back in 2017 – and again now. It affects your daily life. It is our livelihood.”
Bowyer was a star in that Birmingham team that shocked Arsenal at Wembley in 2011 and Jutkiewicz added: “You have respect for a manager coming in, especially when he’s done what Lee Bowyer has done for this club.
“He knows what it means to play for this club. We want to get the job done and stay up and it feels like we have got the right guy in charge to provide a platform to start building the club back up again. I would enjoy a successful Birmingham City, it would be huge. “You don’t want to be scrapping away at the wrong end of the table. You dream of being involved in teams that are successful.
“I’ve watched videos of the League Cup final and the dramatic semi. Big games – and that’s where you want to see this club.”
A delighted Bowyer said: “It was a very professional performance. Defensively we looked solid. Whenever they asked questions we dealt with it. It was very good from start to finish.”
Stoke are limping towards the end of the season and manager Michael O’neill says the Potters cannot buy big. “We don’t have the money to buy players unless we can move out some of the 12 players we have on loan to free up cash,” he warned.