Lee Clark: "I wish there were a lot more games left."

Birmingham City boss Lee Clark reflects on the slow start to the season and talks about facing Bristol City.



Lee Clark has admitted that Birmingham City ‘wasted’ three months of the season.



And he lamented the fact that their upturn in form has come too late to put them in the reckoning for promotion from the Championship.



Blues head to Bristol City tonight (7.45pm) still not clear themselves of relegation trouble.



But it would represent a major surprise if they stumbled so badly in their remaining four games and others around them took advantage.



Blues have the advantage of a five-point cushion to the drop zone.



But that could have been immaterial, said Clark, had Blues clicked in the early stages of the campaign.



“Ultimately when I came in what I had to do was give the players the opportunity to carry on where they left off last season,” said the manager.



“And it was a case of getting my philosophies over as well, how I wanted us to play.



“It didn’t kick on like that, carrying on where they left off, and it came to just before Christmas when we saw a change.



“I know it was forced upon us because of the injuries and suspensions, but those players who came in gave us a little bit of vigour, a bit of pace and energy in the team.



“We’ve stuck with those players and I think they’ve produced the performances and results that have basically turned the season around.



“In the early part of the season it wasn’t going the way that anyone planned. If we had played with this type of intensity for the whole duration of the season there is no doubt we would have been in the mix, certainly the way the season has panned out, and that’s the frustrating part.



“Yes, I wish there were a lot more games left.



“But you’ve got to do your season the way it is and, unfortunately for us, we wasted three months and didn’t kick on from where the players had been last season.



“That’s the reality of it but certainly in the last four or five months the turnaround has been very impressive.”



The Robins, rock bottom ten points from safety, simply have to win tonight to give themselves any chance at all of staying up.



Clark said Blues must capitalise on their predicament and try for a fifth win in the last eight away games.



“They are fighting for their lives,’’ he said.



“They have got good players. Since Sean O’Driscoll has come in they have been good at home. That was their first defeat since he took over, at the weekend, at Ashton Gate.



“But ultimately when you are down the bottom your confidence does erode.



“We’ve got to play with our heads and use the tension around the place to our advantage.



“The players did that on Friday at Leicester City and at Crystal Palace.



“The tension around certain grounds when you go there now is unbelievable, whether the teams are at the top or the bottom, and you’ve got to use that as part of your game-plan and strategy.



“Any human being, if the fans are turning on you a little bit, gets a bit more nervous than they normally would be.



“We’ve got to make sure the anxiety on the terraces transfers on to the pitch.”