Blues brush aside woeful Sunderland

Last night’s 3-1 win over hapless Sunderland at St. Andrew’s propelled Birmingham City out of the bottom three for the first time in two months.

The result was telling of the differentiating mentalities of both clubs. Blues were up for the fight and pressed and harassed Sunderland from the first whistle. Chris Coleman’s men were truly woeful and lacked any real fight – a point reiterated by their manager during his post match interview.

Blues won the game more through desire than quality. David Davis, who turned in arguably his best performance of the season, alongside Maikel Kieftenbeld and the improving Cheikh Ndoye, were tireless.

But the biggest positive of the evening was Blues’ conviction in the final third. Make no mistake, Blues have performed better this season and lost with a lack of goals highlighted as the main factor. But from the moment Davis put Blues ahead, the outcome was never in doubt. Jeremie Boga added a second and Sam Gallagher put the icing on cake.

Steve Cotterill deserves credit for the job he is doing. The players look fitter, sharper and so much more orgsanised. Although Blues became sloppy in the final quarter of an hour – and nervous after Brian Oviedo netted a late consolation – Cotterill will be thrilled with the overall performance.

The Blues boss stated this week that trimming is squad down was ‘just as crucial’ as bringing a player in and I would second that thought. The balance of the squad is much better and the glass stomach wich has been so evident in recent months seems to be a thing of the past.

Having Che Adams and Carl Jenkinson fit and with Jason Lowe and Cohen Bramall back in contention, Cotterill certainly has options. With that in mind, would it be the end of the world if the club don’t clinch a deadline day signing?

It’s set to be a quiet day for the club – a total contrast to deadline day back in the summer. The manager remains hopeful of bringing one in – potentially a loan – but whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen.

So with three points in the bag, Blues can look forward to a testing trip to Hillsbrough on Saturday followed by an FA Cup replay against Huddersfield Town.

Vital Birmingham Man of the Match – David Davis