Pep grudge gets buried
BIRMINGHAM boss Pep Clotet reckons he has cleared the air with Garry Monk.
The pair fell out when Monk refused to shake his former long-term assistant’s hand before the 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at Hillsborough.
But they appeared to bury the hatchet when Owls boss Monk embraced his former No.2 before the match here.
They also shared a lengthy but animated chat afterwards.
Clotet said: “It was good to clear the air. He spoke his mind and I spoke my mind. The air was always clear from my point of view.
“Hopefully we can now turn the page on this story. I have worked with some of the best managers in football such as Pellegrini, Pochettino and Laudrup and I do not hold grudges with anyone.
“It’s so easy to get lost in grudges and regrets that you forget to enjoy it and keep friendships going forward. I treat him as a colleague and always deal with people with a lot of humility.
“I offered him my hand and it’s always nice to talk about the game.”
Monk admitted: “Apparently I’m not a man if I don’t do that, so I decided to be a man!
“I just took care of that so I could concentrate on my team and concentrate on what they’ve got to do.”
Wednesday’s winless run stretched to six matches, and they have won just one of their last 11 games in the Championship.
But after trailing twice, they were only denied victory by Scott Hogan’s 91st-minute equaliser after a spirited second-half performance.
“It was disappointing in terms of the ending of the game but in terms of the performance it was a lot more like ourselves,” said Monk.
Blues took the lead with a Jacob Murphy own-goal only for Barry Bannan to level with a 22-yard drive. Lukas Jutkiewicz’s shot from the edge of the box restored the hosts’ lead but Fernando Forestieri made it 2-2 with a penalty.
Murphy appeared to win it with a scorching angled shot but Hogan grabbed an equaliser in the first minute of added time.
Clotet declared himself delighted with his strike partnership.
“It’s a lovely partnership – one has what the other lacks. We can play one way to Scott and another way to Jukey,” he said.