Birmingham City Football Club News

• Nickname:Blues
• Founded:1875
• Manager:Chris Hughton

• Ground:St Andrew's
• Capacity:30,016

Absences worry Blues boss

14 Jan 2009 - 12:05:06

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Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish was left to rue the absence of several key players after his side were beaten 2-0 at home in the FA Cup third round by Wolves.

The Blues were without recent signings Lee Bowyer, Hameur Bouazza and Scott Sinclair, while a number of regular starters were also absent due to injuries.

McLeish told the Birmingham Mail: "I don't think this result will have any bearing on the Championship.

"Mick (McCarthy) made some changes and we had a real catalogue of bad luck tonight with players who weren't available and also the injuries. That doesn't help.

"You need to have your best players available when you are playing against teams that are the calibre of Wolves.

"It was just one of those nights when nothing went for us. We had eight players missing who could have conceivably started the game.

"The players who weren't available were brought in to change the dynamic of the team, but they will be available on the weekend apart from possible injuries."