Reflections, key players, positives and the next few weeks

The busy schedule around Christmas and New Year is perhaps the most demanding part of the season for footballers.

Gary Rowett`s Blues have taken nine points from a possible 12, which I believe is an excellent return. Three of those four games were against fellow play off hopefuls Cardiff City, Sheffield Wednesday and Brentford.

The one defeat came away at Wednesday on Boxing Day where Blues were beaten convincingly 3-0. It might be fair to say that the Owls were deserved winners but some might say that the outcome would’ve been different should Rowett not have given the players the day off on Christmas Day.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom as we followed that disappointment up with two home wins. The 1-0 victory against MK Dons was thoroughly deserved and, in fairness, the result flattered Karl Robinson`s side.

On another day Blues could’ve scored three, four or even five. From start to finish Blues were the better team and the result left us in a good position going into the Brentford game.

Prior to facing the Bees, I thought that we would learn a lot about the team and that it was one of our biggest games of the season. It is vital that, if we want to be in the promotion mix at the end of the season, we must beat our nearest rivals.

Brentford are a good side and have some talented individual players such as the likes of Alan Judge and Toumani Diagouraga. These are the games we need to be winning, especially at home.

And, as it happens, Blues did win the game and in fine fashion too. A late winner from the outstanding Maikel Kieftenbeld leaves Blues just two points outside the play off places following the conclusion of a busy period.

A massive plus coming out of those four games was the fact that we got our home form back on track. We couldn’t just rely on winning away from home and to get three wins in a row at St Andrews gives both the players and fans a huge boost.

Getting points on the board was also important as there are some big games coming up against the likes of Derby County, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest.

Blues boss Rowett also welcomed Clayton Donaldson back into the team after his long injury lay off which, as we all know, is massive.

Donaldson is pivotal to what we do and it showed just how much we miss him when he was out injured. However, despite Donaldson going off at half time against Brentford, the team showed great spirit without him to score two goals and win against a strong opponent.

There is also another player that is making quite a name for himself amongst Blues fans. Dutchman Kieftenbeld joined for less than £200,000 and is showing what great value Rowett got in signing him.

His work rate and never say die attitude optimises what Rowett is trying to instil into the club and Kieftenbeld is finally getting his just desserts. When he popped up to scramble home in the 89th minute following a lung busting 60 yard run to support James Vaughan, you could see the euphoria on his face when he punched the air in front of the Tilton.

It was a moment for all to treasure and I think ‘Dutch Maik` will be a favourite for a very long time. His goal was the icing on the cake for what his performances have deserved. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player who can be on one side of the pitch one second and then on the other side moments later.

The way he covers ground, reads the game, intercepts passes, goes into tackles fully committed and starts off attacks is a joy to watch and the midfielder is now just as paramount to the team as Donaldson is.

With the inevitable departure of Demarai Gray to the Premier League, Rowett might want to look at signing another winger. But, talking of wingers, Jacques Maghoma has stepped up to the plate and delivered the goods for Blues in the last two games.

He followed his excellent match winner against MK Dons by scoring the first against Brentford with a well taken strike. His five goals this season in comparison to Gray`s one could be the difference in earning the team a play off spot.

With David Cotterill close to returning, him and Mags could be a formidable force on the wings in the second half of the season.

Blues now have a weeks break before their next fixture against Bournemouth in the FA Cup. It might be a chance to rest a few players and give others an opportunity.

We have a few loanees returning so the likes of Mitch Hancox and Mark Duffy could possibly be given an opportunity by Rowett. I anticipate a few changes purely due to the fact that we have had a hefty past couple of weeks and there are some big games to come in the next few weeks.

However, it is always good to have a cup run and I don’t think I’d be the only person in saying that we need to get revenge on the Cherries for what they did to us in October 2014. The less said the better.

This month also sees the January transfer window open and Rowett is quoted to have said that he has money to spend. Obviously he doesn’t mean that we are going to go out and sign a £9m striker, but what he does mean is that we have that little bit extra that will secure us more quality.

We know that Rowett is keen to keep the squad as small as possible but, as we have seen, a couple of injuries can leave you to the bare bones and I don’t think it will hurt for him to go out and sign three or four players that add to the team. If he started by re-signing James Vaughan then he would be a welcomed addition as his performances during his loan spell were impressive.

Let’s just hope that the team continue to perform well, pick up points and plug away at that top six. The gap between us and forth place isn’t that big and I believe that there are three play off places up for grabs.

Derby, Middlesbrough and Hull City should complete the top three and then it is possibly up to nine clubs to fill the other three spots. At present, Blues are on track and only time will tell us whether or not we can finish in the top six. I certainly believe we can!