GARDNER PLAYING FOR HIS CAREER - MONK
GARRY Monk believes loanee Gary Gardner is “playing for his career” with Birmingham.
Gardner, 26, joined in August on a season-long loan from local rivals Aston Villa and has impressed since, scoring his first goal for the club against Reading.
It is Gardner’s seventh loan move away from Villa Park and Monk believes he is motivated by a desire to secure his longterm future.
“I think he’s been great since he came in,” said Monk. “There was the whole talk about bringing somebody in from your rivals when he first joined us, and I totally understood that.
“But knowing how he plays, the sort of player he is, the fact that his brother (Craig, also a former Villa player) is here and knowing that he’s from the area, I haven’t been surprised at all.
“He’s had a difficult time at Aston Villa and hasn’t quite got going there and it looks like he’s playing for his career as well as for us.
“He’s fitted straight in and is a really good professional and a great lad.”