We always seem to fail to deliver when it really matters

I HAD a bad feeling about Friday night’s game. Despite our recent run of form, and the huge incentive to go third in the table, I just felt that we would blow our chance.

It’s an all too often occurrence with the team this season. When we can really stamp our authority on the division and look like a side capable of promotion we falter.

Our away form is terrific, second only to West Brom, but at home we have been pretty dismal, both in terms of performance and results. We have won only three in the last nine home games, which is form that will not see us make the playoffs at the end of the season.

Why is it? It’s easy to blame the atmosphere and the fear factor of performing in front of your home fans, but that’s just an excuse. It’s not a toxic atmosphere. The fans were right behind the team – they just failed to deliver. After a good opening spell we looked like a side short of confidence and with no real presence.

It’s easy with hindsight to talk about the starting line-up and why having spent £4 million on Nahki Wells, one of the division’s top scorers, he didn’t start. To be fair to Lee Johnson, I think most fans would have agreed that starting with the same team that had done so well at QPR in the last match was the right call – and after a minute it looked exactly that as the in-form Jamie Paterson scored a fine goal.

I felt that we would go on to get a second. However, despite our pressure we didn’t make it count and allowed Birmingham into the game, and once they equalised they didn’t look back and deservedly went on to win.

We really needed someone with Kasey Palmer’s guile and eye for a pass to open up Birmingham in the second half. Korey Smith and Han Noah Massengo had a lot of the ball, but their strength is not in creating and opening up the opposition.

Preston’s victory at Wigan means that we have dropped out of the top six and we have to put in a performance and get a win at home to Derby County on Wednesday.

We have got ourselves into a brilliant position and we have to take advantage. The table doesn’t lie, but we haven’t looked like a top-six team in a lot of games.

We have made good signings in the window and there cannot be any excuses.

Let’s get behind the boys again on Wednesday and let’s try to turn our home form around.