The Birmingham manager Lee Clark has praised the substitutes Nathan Redmond and Wes Thomas after the pair managed to turn the game around for the blues in the recent match against Derby County.

Clark decided to bring on the duo when Birmingham were trailing 1-0 in the match. This would have meant that the team’s good run of form in recent weeks would have been spoilt. Prior to the match, Birmingham had lost only one out of the four encounters. As a result, they have managed to get themselves clear off the relegation zone. Questions about the team would have been raised if they had been defeated against Birmingham.

Ben Davies had given Derby County the lead after 40 min in the match. However, the two substitutes Thomas and Redmond scored goals in the second half to give Birmingham all three points. Thomas started the recovery from Birmingham with a goal in the 67th minute. Redmond then put Birmingham ahead of the match after 75 min before Thomas scored his second goal of the match in injury time to make the game safe for the blues. As a result of this victory, Birmingham rise to the 14th position in the table behind the likes of Blackpool and Charlton.

“Listen, they are good players. Talented players. Even though there wasn’t too much in the first-half, I just felt that Derby were gaining momentum by each minute and the game was there to be taken, if we wanted to take it. All week I talked about the young, hungry players Derby have. A lot of energy, a great work ethic and we had to match that to get something from the game – and we didn’t. I’m delighted for the pair of them,” said Clark. Thomas has been signed on a loan deal till the end of the season from Bournemouth.