Aitor keeping calm as Blues slip further
BLUES boss Aitor Karanka has insisted he is not worried about relegation despite his team falling to within three points of the Championship’s bottom three after Tuesday night’s goalless draw at Wycombe Wanderers.
Karanka’s men have now won just one of their last 10 games and, thanks to Nottingham Forest’s win against Coventry, are now fourth from bottom in the table.
Sheffield Wednesday’s win at Bournemouth also drew them closer to danger, following a night where Blues were left frustrated by Ryan Allsop’s heroics in goal for the hosts.
Karanka (pictured) said: “When I came here, I knew it was going to be a tough season. It’s impossible to think about being in a higher position when the team was going in the way it was going last year.
“We brought in players without spending money, and in the market we bought players without spending the money that other teams had.
“We’re not complaining, it’s just to show the reality for everybody. We knew it was going to be difficult and it’s been difficult, so we’ll just keep going.
“It’s a shame because we played a good game, we had a lot of chances and from our chances their keeper was super and we didn’t score.
“It’s difficult to accept, once again, when we’re playing like we did today and we are not winning games, but it is time to keep a strong mentality, to keep going because once again we have shown we are creating chances.”
Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth said after the game: “It wouldn’t have looked out of place in League Two – no disrespect to League Two, but there was very limited moments of quality out there. I think what was Premier League was probably the two goalkeepers – both made match-saving saves.”
Blues secured a last-gasp loan deal for Southampton defender Yan Valery on Monday’s transfer deadline day.
The 21-year-old French star signed until the end of the season. Valery has had a difficult campaign, struggling for game-time under Saints’ boss Ralph Hassenhuttl, until recently.
The full-back, who can also play in midfield, will challenge Maxime Colin for the right-back berth at St Andrew’s.
And Blues also secured the services of Manchester City youngster Keyendrah Simmonds.
The teenager has signed a two-anda-half-year deal that will keep him at St Andrew’s until 2023. He arrives determined to prove himself to Karanka and earn a place in the first-team squad having found his route very heavy going at the Etihad Stadium.
However, he has been in one of the finest youth systems since he was eight years old and has even trained with Pep Guardiola’s first team.
He described that experience: “Training with the first team was crazy, man!
“Everyone’s got to be focused on what they’re doing – you’ve got to make sure you’re on it when Pep’s watching.”
Simmonds has played with the Under-23s at City this season and also appeared and scored in the EFL Trophy group stage clash at Lincoln in November.
He is capable of operating on the left of a front three, or leading the line as a central striker.
He is Blues’ third signing in January. Midfielder Rekeem Harper has joined on loan from Albion and striker Sam Cosgrove has completed a permanent switch from Aberdeen.