Cotterill’s consistency call ahead of big derby
STEVE Cotterill says Birmingham City must aim for greater consistency as they ‘lick their wounds’ ahead of the derby showdown with Aston Villa.
The Blues admitted his frustration as his team slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Millwall last Saturday.
The result and performance was all the more deflating for the contrast with the display and 1-0 victory over Cardiff the week before.
And with the biggest match of the season so far to be staged at St Andrew’s on Sunday, the Birmingham manager said the team must break the current cycle that has produced two victories and two defeats from the last four matches.
“Maybe it will be the perfect game – but we had a perfect game didn’t we when we played at home to Cardiff in my first game?” Cotterill said.
“We had a perfect game [at Millwall] to build on that Cardiff game. It’s easier sometimes to keep a momentum going than it is to be winloss, win-loss. You can’t do that.
“We have got to lick our wounds and get on with it and try and do our best next week.
“The training will still be the same, it will still be tough. We will be prepared when we go into the Aston Villa game.”
What disappointed Cotterill most about the Millwall defeat was the fact his players were unable to implement his instructions as well as they had done against Cardiff.
Blues struggled to match the hosts’ intensity and as a result found themselves under pressure rather than putting Millwall under that much.
But Cotterill has discovered a giving mentality in his Birmingham City dressing room and reckons they have the mindset to be successful.
The boss already had a strong bond with Blues’ squad, having coached them for three games last season while working as Harry Redknapp’s assistant manager.
But relations between Cotterill and his players are continuing to blossom.
“I’d like to think I’m a giver if you know what I mean,” said Cotterill. “The more givers you get, the better your dressing room is. I don’t really take. I like having a lot of givers in the dressing room.
“If you can have a dressing room full of givers, then you will be successful. It’s the takers who you come across from time to time where they can be a bit selfish or whatever. But I haven’t detected any of that in this dressing room.
“I know they’ll all want to play and they’re not always going to have smiles on their faces. My door is always open and I will always tell you the truth when you come in.”
The boss has a busy week ahead, preparing his squad for Sunday’s second city derby with Aston Villa.
Blues take on their fierce rivals at St Andrew’s aiming to put further distance between themselves in the Championship relegation zone and Cotterill will be hoping for a better experience than in his last clash with the claret and blues.
The 53-year-old’s No.2 to Redknapp defeat at Villa Park.
Meanwhile, Che Adams is considering an approach to represent Scotland at international level.
The Scottish FA have made enquiries with the Blues striker who qualifies through his mother’s side of his family.
It was first mooted in the summer when the youngster came under consideration for a place in the Scots’ Under 21 squad.
And it has been suggested again, this time with the possibility of a place in the senior squad for the friendly with The Netherlands on Thursday, November 9.
However, Adams is understood to be taking his time before making a first outing ended in a as 1-0 commitment having already represented England at Under 20 level.
That was back in September 2015 when he came off the bench once and started once in the double header against the Czech Republic.
Adams, who recently committed his future to Blues by signing a new contract, is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the Birmingham squad.
He has struggled with hamstring injuries this season but is back in the team and scored a high-class winner against Cardiff City in the last home game.
Since joining Blues in a package which could be worth £1.9 million Adams has made 49 appearances and scored 11 goals.
He was also the subject of bids from rival Championship clubs in the summer with Fulham and Derby both having made unsuccessful offers.