Kenna warns old clubs
Former Birmingham defender Jeff Kenna has warned his old team-mates there is no such thing as a team too good to be relegated.
Now at Derby, the 34-year-old Irishman will see City go into battle with another of his previous clubs, Blackburn, at Ewood Park on Sunday knowing that a victory could prove crucial to either team.
The Blues currently lie 15th in the Barclays Premiership league table following Saturday’s home defeat by Everton and just three points better off than second-bottom Rovers.
While the St Andrews club’s progress in recent seasons suggests they have what it will take to climb away from the drop zone, Kenna knows that simply expecting to do so will not be enough.
“I don’t buy into that theory at all,” he said. “If you are not winning games, it does not matter how good you are on paper.
“There is no team in the land that is too good to go down, including Blackburn and Birmingham.”
Even at this early stage of the season, Steve Bruce’s men find themselves at a crucial game.
“A massive game for both sides, and the loser is in serious trouble,” is Kenna’s assessment of Sunday’s fixture.
“Blues have Norwich after that and if they lose both of those games, their season becomes a relegation scrap.
“It gets difficult then. It shouldn’t be because you should still go out and relax and play your football, but when you are down there, psychologically you take that little bit extra care with every pass and the simple things become harder as the pressure increases.
“While Blackburn will feel home advantage could be important for them, if you were a betting man you’d go for a draw, and probably a scoreless one, too. But that result would do neither side any good.”
The loss of Mikael Forssell has done Birmingham no favours, but Kenna is confident that there are still goals in the team.
“Take 20 goals off any team and they’d struggle,” he told the Birmingham Post.
“Dwight Yorke has scored goals everywhere he has been, (Emile) Heskey has too but maybe, in the Premier League at least, Clinton Morrison probably has still got something to prove.
“The club paid a lot of money for him and he would definitely want to get into double figures this season.”
Morrison could be in line for a recall for Sunday’s game after playing for the reserves in the 1-0 win against Middlesbrough last night following a knee injury.
| Related Stories: |
|
