HARRY: YOU WON’T RUIN ME LIKE ZOLA!
ASEETHING Harry Redknapp stuck the boot into his Birmingham squad after they squandered the lead in Friday’s defeat at Burton Albion.
Despite the Brewers enjoying the better of the chances in the first period, Birmingham led through Jacques Maghoma, who stabbed home against his former side on the half-hour mark from Lukas Jutkiewicz’s knockdown.
But a shift from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2 brought a change in fortune for Nigel Clough’s men in the second period, with Marvin Sordell’s superb turn-and-strike from 20 yards levelling the score, before Lucas Akins teed up Lloyd Dyer to grab a 66th-minute winner – much to Redknapp’s disgust.
“We’re in a great position to win the game, no problems, we’re in control. They come out second half, change the system, go 4-4-2 and we lost it,” he fumed.
“Suddenly, four or five of them disappeared and we didn’t win any battles. What am I supposed to say? People are not stupid. People see the second half, it’s not good enough.
“Nobody can say ‘ok lads, I’ll sprinkle stardust on you, you’re a new lot of boys this year, forget that you ruined [Gianfranco] Zola last year, this year we’re going to be different’.
“What I need is to change a lot of them because that’s not good enough.
“I’m not standing here trying to win points with the Birmingham fans, this is a fantastic football club with unbelievable support, and they deserve to have a good team.
“By the end of the window, I’ll have a group of players that I’ll work with and we’ll be pushing for that top six.”
Burton were propping up the table ahead of the game following defeats by Cardiff, Hull and Middlesbrough – but they were fully deserving of three points at the Pirelli Stadium.
Tom Naylor and Jutkiewicz saw early headed chances saved at either end, before Sordell squandered Burton’s best chance of the first half after Matthew Lund’s turn, with goalkeeper David Stockdale getting down well.
And Maghoma did not take long to punish his former employers with a fine goal, latching on to Jutkiewicz’s lay-off from Clayton Donaldson’s cross, although he kept his celebrations to a minimum out of respect.
Clough’s tactical tinker paid immediate dividends as Sordell’s first goal of the season came from the edge of the box with Matty Palmer already forcing Stockdale into two smart saves.
Burton then turned the screw with the Blues reeling; Naylor fired wide from Jackson Irvine’s through-ball and Luke Murphy saw penalty appeals waved away, although Donaldson also hit the post with an acrobatic effort.
But Dyer produced a clinical finish from Akins’ brilliant backheel to ensure Clough had the last laugh.
He said: “It’s a big moment in the season to get us off the mark having lost the first three.
“A point wouldn’t have been a bad result, but to get all three points by coming from behind with the way we played at the start of the second half will do us the power of good.
“That’s Sordell’s first of the season and he hasn’t shown it often enough so far.
“We were disappointed with him and Jackson Irvine in the first half, and if anything turned our fortunes around it was their performances in the second half.”