Davis digging middle ground with Gardner
REVITALISED David Davis reckons he and Gary Gardner have the perfect blend to leave their Championship rivals in a spin.
Birmingham City’s return to form has coincided with recalls in central midfield for Davis and Gardner, who scored the winner against Luton on Saturday.
After a dismal run of only one win in 12, Blues have registered back-to-back victories with the duo as the midfield axis. Davis reckons he and his partner have developed an understanding over time that helps them dovetail to great effect. “We’ve played together quite a lot and know what to expect from each other,” said Davis, who was back to his uncompromising best at Kenilworth Road.
“He’ll protect me and I’ll protect him. It works hand in hand playing with someone like him who knows the club and knows how to really fight for a game.
“There’s been times this season when we’ve played really good football and won. But there’s been times when we’ve needed that steel or needed to be a bit nasty and haven’t quite done that.
“You have to adapt to each game and each game is different. Luton was never going to be pretty so we had to get the three points by any means. “Gazza, you know he can get forward and really push on. If I stay back, which a lot of the time I do, it allows him to push on and that’s what he can do.
“He can pop up with a goal. It was a good time for us to get it. It settled us back down.”
Head coach Pep Clotet described the win in Bedfordshire as a six-pointer. The result moved Blues 11 points clear of the Hatters and eight above the drop zone.
Davis didn’t use quite the same terminology, but acknowledged the significance of a first league success in eight outings.
“Results in the league haven’t gone too great for us so it was important to get three points, especially against a team not that far from us,” he said.
“To get three points is massive and gives us something to build on. This is the Championship. You’re not going to get pretty football every week. Sometimes you have to go back to basics and give a dogged display.”
Lukas Jutkiewicz gave Blues the perfect start with his ninth goal of the season and seventh with his head. His goal was cancelled out by James Collins’ second-half penalty, though Gardner struck seven minutes later to turn the match back in the visitors’ favour.
Captain Harlee Dean was dismissed in the closing stages, but Blues dug in to grind out a first league win at Luton since November 1979.
“That’s the level we’ve set ourself,” Davis added. “We’ve got to keep pushing for that. If we don’t, we’ve only got ourselves to blame.
“We’ve given ourselves a great platform to build from and look to next week.”