The Birmingham City squad had a candid conversation in the dressing room after slipping closer to the relegation zone with a late defeat to Millwall.
Japhet Tanganga scored the only goal at The Den, extending the Blues’ winless streak to four games in the absence of manager Tony Mowbray. Blues are currently 21st in the Championship and risk relegation if Huddersfield Town defeat West Bromwich Albion today. They have two games at St Andrew’s next week to improve their performance from the previous two weeks, where they only earned one point out of a possible 12. During an interview with BBC WM, Alex Pritchard detailed the honest post-match debrief that took place yesterday.
“You have to realise the situation we are in,” stated Pritchard. “At the moment, we have ten games, and everyone is fighting for their careers – lads who are under contract, boys who are out of contract – and we just discussed it in the dressing room.
“You do not want to be associated with a relegation.” We know what’s in store, and we have to compete and give it our all until the end of the season.
“We have ten cup finals to play. That is the fact; everyone must understand and play their part. The fans turned out in large numbers today, and we haven’t offered them anything.
The Blues believed they should have had a penalty before Tanganga headed home from George Saville’s corner. Jay Stansfield was brought down inside the box as he attempted to latch onto Pritchard’s brilliant corner.
Pritchard added: “I know it’s difficult, but when boys are playing for their careers, and supporters and the club as a whole, we conceded a goal to a handball against Hull, and it’s a stonewall penalty. I watched it through to the end. The linesman needed to see it.
“We set up that spot properly. I played the ball, and I can see Jay the entire time it travels; it is a stonewall penalty. The problem is that people’s lives are on the line, and things must change rapidly. We can’t blame it, because scoring changes the game.”
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