‘An Extraordinary Season With Obstacles In The Road’ – The Word On Birmingham
- Leicester City welcome Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon
- This weekend's Sky Bet Championship fixture has a 3pm BST kick-off
- Birmingham's players have had to be resilient this year, says Richard Wilford
- The BBC Radio WM journalist gave a full lowdown on Gary Rowett's side
Leicester’s next match in the all-important run-in sees them welcome Birmingham to King Power Stadium following a comeback win over Norwich City last time out, maintaining belief of an automatic promotion spot come May.
The Blues, meanwhile, head into the fixture just two points above the dreaded relegation zone. Previewing the contest, Wilford explained how the Birmingham camp have had to endure a difficult few months, with an abundance of managers given the reigns at one point or another.
“It’s been an extraordinary season,” the reporter stated. “It’s a football team which always manages to hit some obstacles in the road so even under new ownership, when it looked like it would be a bright future, we’ve had a season were there’s been lots of changes.
“Six different managers have been in charge of the team this season. The number has got that high and we’ve gone full circle in that Gary Rowett is back in after he left in 2016.
“He was replaced by Gianfranco Zola, and he’s coming back in now to sort something of a mess. The [Wayne] Rooney appointment was followed by the misfortune and sad news of the illness to Tony Mowbray. The players have had to be pretty resilient this year and they’ve heard a lot of different voices.”
Winning one point in seven games, the reporter admitted the Blues’ win over Preston North End last time out was crucial in reigniting hope among the fanbase, and spoke about the stability that Rowett has brought back in his second stint with the West Midlands club.
“They needed that win (against Preston),” Wilford continued. “Otherwise they would’ve been losing touch and in a position where four clubs, including Rotherham were fighting to stay up.
“It gives them a little bit more of a margin for error and they've got a bit of a boost because if you’re not winning games, it’s really difficult.
“They went seven without a win and it was looking difficult. But Rowett has come in and made them a little bit more solid. The midfield looks more comfortable with Krystian Bielik pushed further forward.
“And of course, they’ve got Jay Stansfield who is having a really good season on loan who netted his 11th goal of the season against Preston.
“They desperately needed that win, and whether that turns into confidence against a club with the standards of Leicester remains to be seen this weekend.”
On the topic of players, the BBC Radio WM journalist spoke about the impressive form of loanee Stansfield, who has 12 goal involvements in 37 games away from his parent club, Fulham.
While scoring goals hasn’t seem to be an issue this term, Wilford admitted that the problems of failing to pick up points has been due to conceding at the other end of the pitch.
“They’ve got some real talent in the forward positions to be fair,” the reporter voiced. “The Japanese forward Koji Miyoshi has had an exceptional first season in English football with six goals and six assists.
“Juninho Bacuna has had by far his best season with nine goals and half-a-dozen assists. At times he frustrates but he’s got a lot of talent on the ball for sure.
“Jordan James has eight goals from midfield and as a 19-year-old has now reached 100 senior appearances which is unusual at any level of professional football.
“They have got some quality going forward. The problems have largely come from the back. They can’t keep clean sheets and away from home, they’ve conceded far too many straightforward goals, which is something they need to cut out in the final weeks.”
Rowett seems to have added some stability to the Blues’ line-up, as they aim for safety in the Championship, but while previewing this weekend’s match-up on Filbert Way, the reporter was aware of the challenge that faces them.
Wilford added: “Rowett does know the DNA of the club. He was away for seven years, but he knows a lot of people who are involved, he knows what the fans want, and therefore he could come straight in and hit the ground running.
“He’s also quite a pragmatic manager. He will pick a team who will get the most out of the game. The team against Leicester this weekend will be different from the one that played Preston.
“He’ll set up differently to stop the things Leicester do well and give himself a chance at the other end. A point would not be a bad result and a win would have them thinking they’ll stay up with something to spare.
“But obviously no one is under any illusion of the scale of the challenge that awaits them.”