Blues can join the promotion race if they rediscover momentum, says podcaster

Birmingham City can establish themselves in the Championship promotion race if they quickly rediscover their momentum, according to Blues podcaster Craig Courtney.

Blues' three-match winning run and five-game unbeaten streak ended with a 1-0 defeat at Cardiff on Saturday. But they remain seventh in the table, just three points outside the automatic promotion places, ahead of Saturday's trip to Lincoln City, which kicks off at 12:30.

"Just a glitch"

Speaking on BBC Radio WM's football phone-in, Courtney, of the Tilton Talk podcast, said the defeat in Wales should not knock Blues off course.

"Saturday was a little bit of a glitch. We've just got to bounce back from what was a poor performance," he said.

"Nobody is running away with [the league]. Every team seems capable of beating each other on the day. It's arguably the hardest league in the world."

"I think it could be us. It's all about momentum. Last season Coventry didn't have the strongest squad, they had momentum and camaraderie."

"It's not about having the highest-paid players; it's about a team that can be resilient, scrape a 1-0 and, when they need to, have a horrible game that everybody thinks was rubbish but you get three points out of it."

"A rocket" from the boss

Courtney reckons boss Chris Davies would have given his players "a rocket" after the display in Cardiff. "Davies is not afraid to tell people when the team hasn't turned up," he said.

He also felt Blues missed August Priske. "He's not the out-and-out goalscorer that we'd like, but he is a nuisance player and drags defenders all over the place, creating space and opportunities for other players."

A tight division

The Championship is famously unpredictable, with 24 teams playing 46 league games each over a long season. Two clubs win automatic promotion to the Premier League, and the teams from third to sixth go into the play-offs for the final place.

Sitting three points off the top two at this stage of the season puts Blues firmly in the conversation. With no side yet pulling clear, a good run over the next few weeks could take them into the automatic places.

Next up: Lincoln

The first chance to bounce back comes at Lincoln on Saturday lunchtime. Courtney wants more from Argentine forward Luis Vasquez: "At the moment we haven't seen that as fans. We've got to see that little bit more."

Blues fans have had plenty to cheer in recent seasons, with the club's ambitious plans on and off the pitch drawing attention well beyond Birmingham. A strong autumn would put them in a great position heading into the busy winter fixture list.

For supporters travelling to Lincoln, the message from the phone-in was simple: one poor afternoon in Cardiff does not change the bigger picture. Blues are in the mix, and Saturday is the chance to show it.