Birmingham City suffered a 12th defeat away from home in the Championship to Derby County on Saturday
Birmingham City manager Chris Davies
Chris Davies says he is ‘bewildered’ by Birmingham City’s wretched away record and accused his players of lacking personality on the road.
Blues suffered another defeat away from St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 by play-off chasing Derby County.
Davies’ side failed to register a shot on target at Pride Park in a showing that must go down as one of their worst this season, if not the worst.
Blues have now lost 12 of their 20 away games in the Championship – only Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion, Swansea and Oxford have been more feeble on their travels.
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The contrast is stark between Blues’ away results and those at St Andrew’s, where they have consistently been backed by crowds of 27,000. On a points per game basis, Blues have the league’s fifth best home record.
Asked why Blues have struggled so much away from home, Davies didn’t hold back post-Derby: “If I knew why I would fix it straight away. It’s very frustrating and bewildering at times because the same players can look very different home and away.
“For most of this season we haven’t changed our attacking spirit, our attacking style, or intent. (Derby) was a little bit different. We tried to be solid defensively.
“But a lot of the time we’ve gone in with a really attacking mindset to the games. We’ve struggled to score away from home, that’s been a big issue for us. We haven’t been threatening enough away from home.
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“Do we use counter-attacks and set pieces well enough? Probably not. They are classic away goals that you can score.
“With the ball I feel there’s been a lack of the strength and personality we have shown in home games, we don’t have that in away games. We can get knocked off the ball easily, we lose the ball, we don’t have moments that can really push you on in an away game, whether that’s getting turned between the lines, fizzing a ball wide or getting a cross in. Those moments can lift you and give you belief.
“We’ve had too many times when we lose possession in that situation with teams on top of us.
“I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on it and considering it because at home we’re one of the best and away we’re right down there. Last season we were good away and at home, we were the best team, but this season it’s not been good enough.”
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