Blues skipper pulls no punches

Birmingham skipper Kenny Cunningham reckons they deserve to be in the bottom two on the strength of this season's below-par performances.

City have won only once in 12 matches and collected just one point out of a possible 18 at home as they begin the countdown to Saturday's vital clash at fellow strugglers Sunderland.

Irishman Cunningham said: "I am very disappointed with the way we have started the season. We have really struggled. I think after 10-12 games of a season you can gauge a fair reflection of how you have started.

"We have no excuses. We are second from bottom and rightly so. I don't think our performances have justified us being any higher in the league.

"We have to accept that, look for the reasons why, try and improve and gradually pull ourselves higher up the table. There is a huge responsibility for the players here to work things out."

He added: "People will point to injuries to key players which has been a factor but the defensive solidness of the team has not been as we would have wanted.

"We have not kept enough clean sheets and from a defensive point of view that is very disappointing. Over the years most teams have found us difficult to penetrate but this season that hasn't been the case.

"Going forward we have also not been as prolific as we would want to be either. The fans who come week in and week out know we have not been creating enough opportunities and that is not good enough."

Cunningham insisted: "As a group of players we must stick together. We believe in each other and work hard on the training pitch day in and day out. We have the belief that if we persevere then slowly but surely results will begin to change.

"It's about getting back to basics in some respects. Spirit, determination, energy and commitment are vital if you are going to enjoy any sort of success in this league.

"But sometimes all of that is not enough. You have to have a bit of quality in your play as well. We have the players with those qualities and hopefully those ingredients will be enough for us to be successful in some shape or form."