Birmingham v Hudds reaction

06 October 2012 18:45
Birmingham boss Lee Clark called for his players to stand up and be counted after they were again booed off after a 1-0 loss to Huddersfield. A hurt Clark cut a frustrated figure following the defeat to his former employers, leaving Blues fourth-bottom in the Championship. Blues' fifth defeat from 10 games was a second successive setback on home soil in the league for the first time in 19 months, and came after the abject 5-0 rout by Barnsley, the club's biggest home league defeat in 25 years. Reports of a player revolt were dismissed this week but Clark saw his side put in a disappointing display, especially in the first half, and felt his charges handed the initiative to the visitors from the first whistle due to a lack of competitiveness. Jermaine Beckford's 25th-minute strike settled matters for high-flying Huddersfield, while substitute Nikola Zigic was sent off 16 minutes from time for a high challenge on Callum Woods. Clark said: "It's our home, it's where the majority of our fans are. They come to see us and want to see a performance. Any football fan in the world wants to see a bit of drive. "Some good tackles are as good as a good shot, they get the crowd lifted, they get them behind the team, they drive you forward. "Football fans are working-class people, they want to see someone having a right good go for their team, in terms of tackling, heading, competing. "You see the size of me, I'm not a big fella but I competed, I put my head in there, I put my foot in there. Maybe seven times out of 10 the opposition came through me with the ball but I was still putting some sort of challenge in. "There were four of five players in the first half who never did that. They've got to stand up and be counted. "Okay, I'm responsible but I can't keep saying that. Can they start taking responsibility? "I'm getting the flak from supporters, no problem I can take that. But I'm not sitting in the dressing room telling them not to tackle, to pussyfoot around, telling them to mis-place passes. "They can't just hide behind me all the time, they've got to come out fighting." Huddersfield boss Simon Grayson backed Clark to turn things around at St Andrew's after watching his side end a run of back-to-back home defeats with a third successive win on the road. It takes Town - who were impressive here, more so in the first half - up to sixth in the table. "I think deservedly we got the win, getting any points in the Championship is never easy," Grayson said. "We started the game very well, very brightly, pressurised Birmingham when we needed to, played in the right areas with purpose and created some good opportunities. I'm delighted from that point of view. "The back end of the game when Birmingham had nothing to lose we were resilient and withstood some pressure. "To come here and get a result is satisfying from my point of view after two tough previous defeats."

Source: team_talk