Steve Bruce has hailed the contribution of Maik Taylor to Birmingham’s push for Europe and insisted: “I wouldn’t swap him for any other goalkeeper in the Premiership.”
Taylor is in his first full season of top flight football after his season-long loan from Fulham which has now been made permanent.
But the Northern Ireland number one has been in superb form and rescued Blues on numerous occasions with a series of stunning saves.
The only blot on his copybook has been two red cards but Bruce has already indicated that he will appeal against the latest one at Portsmouth on Easter Monday.
Bruce said: “Maik has done superbly for us. He has kept 14 clean sheets this season and has got all the attributes required of a top class keeper.
“He is tall, kicks the ball well, has got good hands, comes and catches well, is a good shot-stopper and above all he is a really top class pro.
“We were so delighted when two or three weeks ago we were able to make permanent his move from Fulham.
“Would I swap him for any other Premiership ’keeper? No. I don’t think I would swap him. It is his first full season at this level because of Edwin van der Saar being at Fulham.
“But we always knew he could perform at this level. We went to watch him at the end of last season when Nico Vaesen was injured.
“We watched him for weeks on end and he played very well and I’ve had absolutely no regrets about bringing him to Birmingham City.
“In my opinion it was between him and Damien Johnson for our best player in the first half of the season and he’s carried on in fine form.”