Bruce frustrated as Birmingham draw again

“WHAT a wonderful advert for Premiership football, extremely average,” was Birmingham manager Steve Bruce’s ironic verdict after Blues uninspiring goalless draw at Southampton.

Bruce’s team, built at a cost of up to €29m played out their fifth consecutive Premiership draw and have won only once in the last 18, but he said: “It takes time for players to gel. We have no divine right to come here and beat Southampton, an established Premiership team since day one, because we’ve been in the top division only two years.

“It is all ifs and buts and of the five draws we could have won two or three quite easily. You could look at it another way and say we are unbeaten in six, including the League Cup, but we thought we had done enough in the second half to win it today.”