No Complaints As Game Is Called Off

Steve Bruce and Sam Allardyce said they had no complaints at the decision to call off the clash between Birmingham and Bolton at St Andrews due to fog.

Bolton had the chance to go second in the Premiership tonight if they had beaten Blues and Kevin Nolan was to have his first outing as captain. But referee Phil Dowd was forced to call the game off just an hour before the 8pm Sky Live kick off.

Bruce said: ‘It is frustrating because we have worked so hard in preparing for this game for the past fortnight. But the conditions caused by the fog meant there was absolutely no chance of it going ahead and the ref was right to call it off. It will be three weeks come Saturday at Sunderland since we have last played and the lads will be chomping at the bit even more to play.’

Allardyce said: ‘It’s a shame what has happened but the referee got his decision absolutely right. The fog would have made it impossible for officials to make their decisions because of the impaired vision caused by the weather. We’ve had 17 days off, with only three of our players being involved in international fixtures, so everyone was eager to play. We’ve had some great preparation time but there’s nothing you can do when fog comes down like that.’

The referee explained: ‘You couldn’t see across the pitch and to me that means you are not going to play. There was a lot on the game for both clubs so you have got to be realistic when making a decision. The pitch was in great condition but the visibility was not good enough. It was not feasible to play. We also took into consideration the fact the supporters would not be able to see.’

Obviously there hasn’t been the time to re-arrange the fixture yet but Sam Allardyce has warned it will be impossible for the date to coincide with the African Cup of Nations in January and February.