Survival is still in our hands, says boss Monk
GARRY Monk has vowed to pick up his Birmingham City players up ahead of a crucial three-game sequence that will determine their Championship fate.
Ten-man Blues were edged out 2-0 by Championship champions-inwaiting Wolves at Molineux last weekend to set up a nervy finale to the season.
It might all have been different had Blues, who host Sheffield United on Saturday, taken their chances at crucial moments in the match. Maxime Colin might have put the visitors in front while Lukas Jutkiewicz went close to equalising shortly before Benik Afobe settled the contest.
“We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves,” Monk said. “Yes, we wanted points, but we still have three games to do that.
“We’re still in the position we are and it’s in our hands. We knew it was going to be tough, but 100 per cent we’re fighting.
“We are giving everything we’ve got to get to where we want to get to.”
Monk was well aware of the size of the task on Sunday with only two teams having left Molineux with all three points this season.
The former Swansea boss was forced to take the defeat on the chin, even though it left his team teetering above the drop zone.
Barnsley are only two points behind Blues and have a game in hand – at Nottingham Forest next Tuesday. But three of the Tykes’ four remaining fixtures are away from home, starting with Saturday’s south Yorkshire derby at Leeds.
Bolton, who are ahead of Blues by a single goal, entertain Wolves on Saturday and also face Burton and Forest, while 19th-placed Reading might yet get dragged into the mix.
The Royals host Ipswich either side of trips to Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff. Blues, meanwhile, have two matches at St Andrew’s where the home crowd could make all the difference.
“Everyone is fighting, everyone is competing,” Monk said. “Our fans are right behind us. We’ve taken confidence and belief from the fact we’re all fighting and competing.
“We know we have quality, we know we can create an opportunity and that everyone is together. That’s what’s needed and these three games will definitely be about that.”
After registering three wins on the spin, Blues have only taken one point from nine, but Monk remains “confident in the lads”.
He said: “I’m confident with the way they work every day, how they are as a group – the mentality they have. We have to take bumps in the road. We knew coming in how difficult the situation was.
“The lads are fighting, are committed and trying to give everything. That’s the key to it. We’re sure in these last three games that will come out and get us the points we need.”
Paul Robinson believes Blues are still recovering from the dismissal of Gary Rowett, after claiming the club had no long-term plan in place.
Rowett was sacked in December 2016 with Blues in seventh, but the following appointment of Gianfranco Zola didn’t work out before Harry Redknapp kept them up.
It is equally tight at the bottom of the table heading into the final stretch of this campaign, too, and club captain Robinson – who has announced he is retiring this summer – thinks the frequent change has not allowed Blues to gather any sort of momentum.
“There’s been too much change, there’s been no consistency,” he said. “There’s been no plan for a club that’s the size of this club.
“You need a plan and I don’t think we really had one when Gary Rowett left. We’ve been catching up now.”