GREAT ATTITUDE

The Birmingham City manager Lee Clark has praised the attitude of the players after the 2-1 victory over Barnsley on Boxing Day. It has helped the club to get the second victory in the last five matches.

It has meant that they have been relieved of the relegation trouble for now because they have a substantial seven-point advantage between them and the relegation zone. The former Aston Villa man Curtis Davies scored both goals for Birmingham City in the match. He opened the scoring in the 35th minute, but Barnsley did not take long to equalise the match after a goal from Jonathan Greening.

The two teams went into the half-time break level, but the defender once again scored in the 77th minute to give Birmingham City an unlikely three points away from home. This could prove to be extremely crucial come the end of the season according to manager Clark, who has praised the attitude shown by the youngsters at the club. Clark has stressed the importance of the collective performances put in by the players in recent matches, while also suggesting that the older players are also important to the team because they will be providing the much-needed depth. Birmingham have played in 24 matches so far in the Championship this season.

“The last two games we’ve had, the four points we’ve taken and the manner that we’ve done it in is great credit to the young boys – that was quite an old team for us now; five teenagers in the starting 11. What they’re doing is showing great spirit and enthusiasm. They’re talented footballers, you would like to put them in a couple at a time rather than drop them all in at once but they’re producing individual performances and spirited collective performances,” said Clark after the Barnsley match.