Big Eck fury at blundering Blues

BIRMINGHAM manager Alex McLeish has warned his players they will pay with their places if they do not learn from Saturday’s error-strewn display at Bolton.

A game that was high on endeavour but low on quality appeared to be petering out to a drab goalless draw before City imploded spectacularly in the final 20 minutes.

Three glaring individual errors handed Bolton the points, as first El-Hadji Diouf and then Nicolas Anelka, twice, pounced to clinch what appeared an unlikely 3-0 victory.

“There’s no doubt 3-0 was flattering for Bolton, they kept Anelka quiet and he was given two gifts,” McLeish said.

“When you’re 1-0 down and then you give away the second one, that’s very difficult to take for everybody. But we’ve got to bounce back, and that’s the measure of a big man — the character to bounce back. The players know they’ve made basic errors.”

Stephen Kelly’s air-kick allowed Diouf to steal in for the first after 72 minutes before Johan Djourou’s throw-in back to goalkeeper Maik Taylor was woefully short, giving Anelka the chance to intercept and finish coolly six minutes later.

The third merely rubbed salt into the wounds when Cameron Jerome gave the ball away cheaply in injury-time.

Kevin Nolan — who earlier had a goal harshly ruled out for offside — played Anelka in behind a statuesque defence and the Frenchman produced another calm finish.

It was an embarrassing end to a catastrophic final quarter for McLeish’s men, and the Scot — who now has two defeats from his first four games in charge — called for an immediate response when Middlesbrough visit St Andrews on Wednesday.

“I knew it was a tough job when I took it on, a massive challenge,” he said. “But I’m not stupid. I don’t have a magic wand, but I’ve got to get more belief into these players.

“If we keep making the errors then it’s going to cost players their places. We’ve got a team that can bounce back, but we will be trying to look to do something in January to add some quality to the squad.”

BOLTON (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen 6, Hunt 7, Meite 6, A O’Brien 6, Gardner 8, Nolan 6, Campo 6 (McCann 59, 6), Guthrie 6, Davies 7 (Samuel 79, 5), Anelka 7, Diouf 7.

Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Speed, Giannakopoulos.

BIRMINGHAM (4-4-2): Maik Taylor 5, Kelly 5, Jaidi 5, Schmitz 5, Sadler 4 (Kapo 46, 6), Larsson 6, Johnson 5, Djourou 4, Muamba 6, McSheffrey 7 (O’Connor 74, 5), Jerome 5.

Subs Not Used: Doyle, Forssell, Nafti.

REFEREE: Chris Foy (Merseyside) 6: Competent enough, although his copybook was blotted by a handful of errors in the second half.

MATCH RATING: *** Always tense, although Birmingham’s late collapse has left Alex McLeish with plenty to ponder. Bolton look the more likely survivors.