Source: Team_Talk
Blues look to equal landmark run
irmingham manager Alex McLeish has challenged his side to make history by avoiding defeat against Wigan in tomorrow's clash at St Andrew's.[LNB] Blues will equal the club's top-flight record of 18 games unbeaten at home if they draw or defeat the Latics, and McLeish has revealed the determination amongst his players for that run to continue.[LNB]City went down to visiting Aston Villa and then Bolton in the early part of last season - their first back in the Premier League.[LNB]But since then they have avoided defeat in front of their own fans and last season shared the spoils with Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool.[LNB]McLeish said: "This seems to be the topic this week of the media. I'm aware of the headlines telling everyone that is the case.[LNB]"I'm sure people reading that will be thinking 'this will be the one where they finally lose that record after talking about it so much'.[LNB]"I can't avoid that. We have a great home record - and we want to preserve it.[LNB]"The players have got to give me everything and to do everything in their power to preserve it.[LNB]"We know some day we will lose at St Andrew's but they won't go down without fighting.[LNB]"It is tough to go away from home and win games in the Premier League."[LNB]McLeish added: "We know by and large that home form keeps you in the league and away form sees you climbing it, which is why we finished in our best-ever position last season (ninth).[LNB]"In my first season at Birmingham we went down because our home form wasn't good enough. There were too many draws.[LNB]"If we had turned one of those into a win, we would have stayed up. That shows how crucial the home games are.[LNB]"So we have got to make ourselves as tough as possible, as we did last season, to be defeated at St Andrew's."[LNB]Midfielder Craig Gardner will be searching for his fifth goal of the campaign and has been described in some quarters as the West Midlands' answer to Frank Lampard.[LNB]McLeish said: "I hope that is the case. If Craig has half as good a career as Frank, then he will be some player.[LNB]"He has scored four goals, has great striking accuracy from outside the box with both feet, but he is also a player that will support the box.[LNB]"He could do worse than study Lee Bowyer's style over the years, with Lee ghosting into the box on many occasions in his career and scoring goals.[LNB]"Craig has got to learn by playing when to make these runs and when the right moments are to do that."[LNB]McLeish is looking for his side to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat at West Brom - their first of the campaign.[LNB]He said: "We have to be more of a threat in the last third, get players into forward areas, but we didn't really get out of our own half last week.[LNB]"It wasn't a case of us defending, it was more that we were disjointed and there was no real shape and cohesion to the team.[LNB]"But I do blame it on the two individual errors that led to the goals.[LNB]"Goals change games and it gave West Brom and their fans an enormous lift and they really controlled things after that."
